Pirate
by angelofmusic1989
Summary: James Norrington hates pirates. But his confidante is the daughter of the worst pirate he's ever heard of.
1. Prologue

"Come up on the deck, Miss Amelia, and see what the horizon has in store for us." Mr. Gibbs, Amelia's guardian, took the girl's arm and brought her up to the deck. She saw Elizabeth Swann on the bow. She was singing the old pirate song.

"Cursed and bad luck to have a woman on board."

"I am a woman, Mr. Gibbs."

"You were raised by a pirate. That counters bad luck." Mr. Gibbs walked over to Miss Swann and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped.

"Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You don't want to bring them down on us, now do you?"

Elizabeth looked frightened. A sharp voice from behind them startled Amelia. "Mr. Gibbs! That will do."

Lieutenant Norrington stood with his usual posture; straight back, arms behind him.

"She was singing about pirates, sir. It's bad luck to be singing about pirates with us mire in this unnatural fog. Mark my words."

"Consider them marked. On your way." The lieutenant dismissed the other man with a wave of his hand.

"Aye, Lieutenant. Amelia, you stay here and play with Miss Elizabeth." She hated that. Elizabeth was ten, and Amelia was fourteen. Far too old to play.

"I think it'd be rather exciting to meet a pirate." Elizabeth spoke to the lieutenant.

"Think again, Miss Swann. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves. A short drop and a sudden stop."

Amelia knew exactly what the man meant, but Elizabeth looked behind her, where Mr. Gibbs mimed hanging himself with a noose. She gasped. The governor, Elizabeth's father, came to the bow.

"Lieutenant Norrington, I appreciate your fervor, but I'm, uh, I'm concerned about the effect this subject will have on my daughter and her friend."

"My apologies, Governor Swann."

"Actually, I find it all fascinating," Elizabeth said. Amelia rolled her eyes. The governor's daughter had no idea of the ways of the world. Where she had read of pirates in books and been told stories by the women in the market back in London, Amelia had lived that life.

"Yes. That's what concerns me. And you, Amelia? Do you find it fascinating?"

"No, sir."

"No?" Elizabeth asked. "How can you say so?"

"I do not find it fascinating. I could not bring myself to care less about pirates."

"Good. See that you stay that way." The lieutenant left.

"I don't understand how you can not be excited by the thought of pirates. They live on the sea, they pillage to make a living," Elizabeth argued. No one on the ship, save Mr. Gibbs, knew of Amelia's upbringing.

"They steal from innocent people, and they care for nothing but treasure."

"You are so ridiculous. What is that?"

Amelia saw a pretty lacy parasol float by the ship in the water. It was followed by a few pieces of adrift debris, one of which held a small, thin boy who was unconscious.

"Look, a boy, there's a boy in the water!" Elizabeth shouted. The lieutenant looked over the rail.

"Man overboard! Man the ropes! Fetch a hook! Haul him aboard!" The men hauled the boy aboard, and Elizabeth and Amelia went to inspect the situation. Lieutenant Norrington checked to see if the boy showed any signs of life. "He's still breathing."

"Mary, Mother of God," Mr. Gibbs muttered. They all looked up. There was a ship in the distance, burning down to the sea.

"What happened here?" Governor Swann said.

"It was most likely the powder magazine. Merchant vessels run heavily armed."

"A lot of good it did them," said Gibbs. "Everyone's thinking it. I'm just saying it. Pirates."

"There's no proof of that," Governor Swann answered.

"Rouse the captain immediately. Heave to and take in sail. Launch the boats." The lieutenant was taking a search party to look for survivors.

"Elizabeth, Amelia, I want you to accompany the boy. He'll be in your charge. Take care of him." They nodded and walked over to the boy. He suddenly awoke and grabbed Elizabeth's arm.

"It's okay," she said. "My name's Elizabeth Swann."

"Will Turner."

"I'm watching over you, Will." Will fainted again. Elizabeth picked up a medallion that was hanging from a chain around his neck. "You're a pirate!"

"Shh. Hide it," Amelia said. Norrington was approaching.

"Has he said anything?"

"His name is Wiliam Turner. That's all I found out."

"Take him below."

As the sailors took the young boy below, Elizabeth studied the medallion, and Amelia looked up when her eyes were burning with smoke. There was a ship with black sails fleeing the wreckage. A ship she knew well. It was the Black Pearl. And her father was on it.

"Miss Sparrow," Mr. Gibbs said. "Come on, dearie, I'll take you to your cabin.


	2. Violets and Secrets

Mr. Gibbs had turned Amelia over to the governor when the ship had reached Port Royal, and eight years later, she was like a daughter to him. She had become good friends with James Norrington, and he considered her a confidante. He considered her to be like a sister to him. But she held him in a much higher esteem. She fell in love with him at eighteen, and here, at twenty-two, she was hopeless. The day before Amelia's life was going to change, she was determined to tell him.

Amelia donned a simple blue dress that morning. She pinned up her dark brown hair, and by the time the captain came to the house, she was about to crumble from nervousness.

"Captain Norrington. Miss Amelia is still upstairs. I'll go and fetch her."

"That's alright, Estrella. I'm here now." Amelia descended the stairs.

"Hello, Miss Sparrow."

"Hello, Captain. I thought we might walk in the garden today. Would that be alright?"

"Yes, of course." He took Amelia's arm, and the two walked along the outer walkway among the violets. They were Amelia's favorite. James picked one and gave it to her.

"Thank you." She put it behind her ear. She didn't know how to start to tell him her feelings.

"Captain…James, I…"

"Amelia, I must ask you something very important."

Amelia's heart fluttered and stood still at the same time. Could it be? "James, you can always ask me anything, you know."

"Yes. Amelia. I...I..."

"What?" She stopped, and he with her. He looked nervous.

"I want to ask Miss Elizabeth to marry me."

It hit Amelia like a sharp slap to the face. She looked into the clear emerald eyes of her dear friend. He was serious. "For how long?"

"For...forever."

"No, I mean...how long have you wanted to marry her?"

"I don't know when it started. But she has become a beautiful woman. And now that I am to be promoted, it is high time I took a wife, I think. I've asked the governor, and he has given his permission."

"Yes, that sounds...that sounds reasonable." They heard the bell ring in the house; it was time for lunch. "We should go."

"Amelia."

"Let's go, James." She walked ahead of him. When they sat down at lunch, she couldn't meet his eyes.

"Did you have a nice walk this morning, my dear?"

"Yes, Father."

"What were the two of you discussing?" Elizabeth said. She liked to tease Amelia; she was jealous that her father had taken in an orphan. She tried to behave as though she had more etiquette than her adopted sister, because she had been born into privilege and Amelia had only been taken into it.

"We were…we were talking about…um…"

"Pirates, sir." Captain Norrington jumped in. "We were discussing the growing need for a marine militia, because of pirates."

"Ah, yes. Well, I expect we shall have one soon, at the rate young men are joining the Navy and being sent here."

"Yes. I hope so. Filthy, pillaging, murdering scoundrels, the lot of them."

"Why do you hate pirates so much, Captain?" Elizabeth asked.

"For all the reasons that I just mentioned."

"I still think it would be rather exciting to meet one."

"I trust you would feel differently, if ever you actually did meet one."

"As if you have, Amelia."

"As a matter of fact…"

"Ladies, please. A little civility." The governor laughed. "Heaven forbid you should ever raise two daughters at one time, Captain Norrington."

"Yes, I…" he looked at Elizabeth, "I imagine it would be very…difficult."

"May I be excused, please?" Amelia stood up, and both gentlemen followed.

"Of course. Are you quite well, my dear?"

"I am...I just…I find that I'm not very hungry today."

"I'll have Estrella bring you some tea."

"No, no thank you." Amelia left the dining room. She waited until she was out of sight before she ran up the stairs to her bedroom. It was there that she let out the sobs that she had been holding in since James had told her that he was in love with her sister.

She looked at herself in the mirror. The violet was still behind her ear. She tore it away and threw it into the corner. Her face was tearstained and red.

"Stop crying. He was never yours."

She started to sob more, because she knew it was the truth.


	3. Captain Jack Sparrow

**I'm updating and editing chapters. I added a conversation between Will and Amelia in this one.**

"Amelia? Amelia, are you awake?"

"Yes, Father." Amelia pinned up the last of her ringlets. She was sure that she could face the captain today. She was resigned to the fact that he would marry Elizabeth.

She opened the door. Governor Swann was there.

"You look marvelous, my dear. You always look best in green."

"Thank you."

"We will be leaving for the ceremony in twenty minutes." He went down the hall to Elizabeth's room, followed by maids carrying boxes. Amelia took one last look at herself in the mirror, and then pinned on her hat. She heard the door open downstairs, and heard the voice of her dear friend, Will Turner. She walked down to greet him.

"Mr. Turner."

"Miss Sparrow. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you." They looked around and then back at each other before sharing a silent laugh. They weren't this formal when they weren't in polite company; indeed they thought it rather odd for two people of their background to behave like a gentleman and a lady. But here, they had to be. Governor Swann came down the stairs a moment later.

"Ah, Mr. Turner, good to see you again."

"Good day, sir. I have your order." Will opened the case and took out a scabbard and sword.

"Well." The governor unsheathed it."

"The blade is folded steel. That's god filigree laid into the handle. If I may."

Governor Swann handed the sword over. Will balanced it on his finger. "Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly full width of the blade."

He flipped it gracefully and handed it to the other man.

"Impressive. Very impressive. Ah, now, Commodore Norrington is going to be very pleased with this. Do pass my compliments on to your master, hmm?"

"I shall. A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated." Amelia smiled. She knew Will's secret. He was a master sword-smith.

Elizabeth came down the stairs. Her father marveled at her: "Oh, Elizabeth, you look absolutely stunning."

She ignored him and spoke to Will. "Will! It's so good to see you. I had a dream about you last night."

"About me?"

"Yes well, it's not entirely proper to..."

Elizabeth interrupted her father. "About the day we met, do you remember?"

"How could I forget, Miss Swann?"

"Will, how many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?" She didn't understand that it just wasn't done. And Amelia thought that was rather funny, considering Elizabeth's fascination with correction other people's manners.

"At least once more, Miss Swann. As always."

"There, see? At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, girls, we really must be going." Each of the ladies were handed a parasol, and Amelia opened hers and went out to the carriage. She heard the last exchange between Elizabeth and Will.

"Good day, Mr. Turner."

"Come along, dears."

When they arrived at the court, James was there, waiting for the ceremony to start. Amelia stood in her spot beside Governor Swann and Elizabeth. The ceremony went on for what seemed like hours in the hot sun, and afterwards, the little family attended the reception. Amelia found Will outside and the two walked to their cove, outside the bounds of the party. Now that she was out of company, Amelia kicked off her shoes and sat down on a rock.

"Will, can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"How long have you been in love with Elizabeth?"

He held no pretense with her. "Since I woke up on that ship eight years ago. She nursed me back to health."

"Yes, I know. Why don't you tell her?"

"Because I...I..."

"Why?"

"Well, let me ask you something. How long have you been in love with the commodore?"

"I am not in love with Ja-Commodore Norrington. I'm not."

"Amelia." He looked at her. She looked back, and finally let the truth out.

"About four years."

"So why don't you tell him?"

"I almost did."

"What? When?"

"Yesterday."

"I can't imagine what the outcome would have been if you actually had."

"He would have laughed in my face."

"I don't know." Will looked out over the water, and then hopped off the rock. "Well, I've got to get going. Lots of things to smith."

"Yes. I should go too; they'll worry."

"But you won't. Don't sit here too long, okay?"

She nodded, and he left. She looked out over the water and thought calmly through the whole thing. Then she saw something splash into the water.

"Elizabeth! My God!"

It was Elizabeth Swann. Amelia ran to the shoreline, hopeless to help. A man in a rowboat jumped in to save her. There was a strange sensation about the water; like a breaking of a barrier. Everything went white and rippled for a moment. The man resurfaced with Elizabeth, now devoid of her brand new gown. Mullroy and Murtogg ran to assist him.

"Not breathing," she heard one say.

"Move!" The man cut open the corset and Elizabeth began to cough and sputter for air. James rushed down to the group, and Amelia followed. He pointed his sword at the...pirate.

"On your feet."

Governor Swann was there. "Elizabeth, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Amelia was not fine. She was looking into the black eyes of her father, whom she hadn't seen in eight years.

"Shoot him!" The governor said.

"No!" Amelia said. She didn't know why. She hated her father.

"Father! Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?" The commodore sighed and extended his hand.

"I believe thanks are in order." When Jack went to shake it, Commodore Norrington grabbed his hand and examined his arm, which was branded with a triangular logo and a letter 'P'. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirate?"

"Oh, Jack." Amelia said it quietly enough that no one heard her.

"Hang him!" The governor said.

"Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons." Norrington looked at the tattoo on Jack's right arm. "Well, well. Jack Sparrow, isn't it?"

He shot a look at Amelia. He knew.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please sir."

James gave him a haughty smile. "Well, I don't see your ship, Captain."

"I'm in the market, as it were."

"He said he'd come to commandeer one," Murtogg said.

"These are his, sir." Mullroy handed over Jack's effects, and Norrington examined them closely.

"No additional shots nor powder. A compass that doesn't point north." He unsheathed the pirate's sword. "And I half expected it to be made of wood. You are, without doubt, the worst pirate I've ever heard of."

"But you have heard of me."

"_Shut up,"_ Amelia thought. They started to drag Jack away.

"Commodore, I really must protest," Elizabeth said. "Pirate or not, this man saved my life."

"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness."

"Though it seems enough to condemn him," Jack said.

"Indeed."

Gillette moved away from Jack. "Finally." He threw his irons around Amelia's neck. The redcoats held up their weapons.

"No, don't shoot!" Governor Swann yelled.

"Play along, darling," Jack whispered into his daughter's ear so that only she could hear him. He was choking her and he wanted her to play along.

"You disgust me."

"I knew you'd warm up to me. Commodore Norrington, my effects, please. And my hat."

The commodore looked at Amelia, and the stare he gave her took her breath away. It was as if he were trying to decide whether or not to let her die, because of her association with this pirate.

"Commodore!" Jack shouted to him. Amelia grimaced. She was losing air.

He handed the effects over.

"Amelia. It is Amelia, isn't it?"

"It's Miss Sparrow."

"Amelia, if you'd be so kind." Amelia helped him with his things, and then stood up.

"You're despicable."

"Sticks and stones, love. I saved the life of your sister over there, you saved mine. We're square. Gentlemen! Ladies. You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" He cut the rope holding a pulley to the dock and went upwards.

"Now will you shoot him?" Governor Swann said, as Jack swung around above their heads on the rigging.

"Open fire! On his heels!" Jack escaped. James stepped forward. "Gillette, Mr. Sparrow has a dawn appointment with the gallows. I would hate for him to miss it."

Amelia's heart was beating out of her chest. If they caught Jack, she would watch her own father hang at dawn.


	4. Cannon Fire

"Come, girls, let's go home." The governor put his arms around Elizabeth's and Amelia's shoulders. Amelia looked back at the men dragging Jack away. She knew that the next few seconds could define the rest of her life; whether she just went home and pretended that she had never met Captain Jack Sparrow, or whether she should speak up.

Finally, she shrugged away from the governor. "I'm sorry, Father. I have to…There's something that I have to do."

"What is it, my dear?"

"He's...I think I know that man."

James took her arm. "You couldn't possibly know him. I think the heat is affecting you. Let me escort you home."

She gave him a look. She knew that he knew, and he still pretended as if nothing was changed.

"Commodore Norrington, I would appreciate if you would let me go." She walked away from them. She heard James tell the governor that he would go after her. When she was almost in town, he caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm taking you home."

"No. Let me go."

"Amelia, you will go home now."

"You don't make my decisions for me, James Norrington. Now kindly release my arm."

"This is your last chance, Amelia."

"Or what?"

"Sir! We've found him!"

James looked at the young sailor and then back at Amelia. He hesitated for just a moment, and then his sense if duty took over. As usual. He walked away from her. Amelia knew she would be too late to help Jack escape. She got a different idea.

She ran to the jail and hid just outside until they had taken Jack in. James and the rest came out, and Amelia snuck in and downstairs.

"Jack."

The pirate didn't look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see that you're alright."

"Well, for a man who is condemned, I'm doing great, thanks."

"Why won't you look at me?"

"Because your little commodore friend is outside and I don't want you to get into trouble for being related to me."

Amelia's heart pounded. She knew he was waiting out there to take her back home. She was in for it.

"He already knows."

"Does he? Well, it's a wonder you're not locked up too."

"Jack, I..."

"Get out of here, darlin' I'm hatching an escape plan and you're distracting me."

"Please, just..."

"Go."

Amelia walked up the stairs slowly, not prepared to face the commodore. When she stepped out into the daylight, he was standing there with his standard posture. He didn't say a word to her. He just grabbed her elbow and pulled her towards her house.

When they arrived at the governor's mansion, James asked to once again speak to Amelia alone, and the governor allowed the drawing room for the conversation, happy that his daughter had been brought home safely. James led Amelia into the room and closed the door after him.

"Sit down."

"No, thank you, Commodore."

"Sit!" She sat on the settee. He walked over to the bookcase and stood with his hands behind his back. He looked at the ceiling briefly, and then fiddled with some trinkets on the shelf. Amelia's heart was beating so loud that she was sure he could hear it. He turned. His expression was blank. "I need to know the truth. Did you know that he was your father? Did you know that your father was a pirate?"

"Yes." There was no point in lying to him now.

He nodded. "Can you give me one good reason that I shouldn't throw you into prison with him?"

"None of us can help who we are related to, Commodore."

"You've lied to me. For eight years, you've hidden this from me. I made you my confidante, Amelia, because I trusted you. You were my best friend. And now..."

"I'm still the same person. I left my father behind in England because I knew that he would never hold me in such high esteem as wealth and treasure. I'm not him."

"You could have said something to me."

"Do you remember what you said on the bow of the ship when we crossed the Atlantic? That anyone who sailed under the pirate flag or wore the pirate brand should hang. How could you stand there and say that I should have told you the truth about this?"

"This is different.."

"It's you who hid things from me. How long have you been in love with my sister?" He didn't say anything. Amelia opened the door. "Commodore, I am so happy to hear of your engagement to Elizabeth. And I hope that the two of you will be very happy together."

And she left. The commodore followed angrily, but calmed himself so as to not show a disdainful face to the governor. The two gentlemen left the house, and Amelia ran upstairs to her bedroom. She undressed and climbed into bed, not bothering to do her evening grooming. She just wanted to go to sleep.

But before sleep would claim her, she heard cannon fire. There was shouting, and she looked out her window. A ship that she recognized all too well was down in the water, firing upon Port Royal. and if she knew anything about those pirates, she knew that they would be beating down the door of the governor's mansion any second, looking for the gold piece that Elizabeth had taken from Will all those years ago.  
Amelia put on her robe. She flew her bedroom door and opened it, only to be greeted by the sight of the butler being shot by two of the ruffians at the front door. She needed another escape, and when she looked around, she discovered that the window was her only option. Amelia opened it and looked down. There was a small awning about four feet below. She lowered herself onto it. The ground was now about eight feet away. She closed her eyes and dropped. When she landed on her feet, she started to run.

"Will! Will!" Amelia banged on the door of the blacksmith shop. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was him.

"Amelia! What are you doing?"

"They're in my house!"

Will thought for a split second before leading her into the shop. He hid her behind some barrels and threw a cloth over the top.

"You hide here. I'll come back and get you when it's safe."

She nodded and he left.

Hours passed.

She was sure it was hours.

It felt like hours.

The cannons and guns died down. The pirates made their way back to the ship. They had found the medallion, and Amelia wondered if they had spared Elizabeth when they took it from her.

Will still hadn't come for her. She was worried. She stood up and, after checking to make sure the coast was clear, left the shop.  
Bodies littered the ground. There were wounded people crawling everywhere. The sun was about to break the horizon. Just as she was examining the body of Mr. Watson, the innkeeper, Amelia felt her arm being pulled and her face fell against someone's coat.


	5. Everything Has Changed

"Amelia!" It was James. She stood rigid in his embrace, glad that he was alive, but still angry at him. He took his coat off and put it around her shaking shoulders. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you? Let me look at you."

When he took her face in his hands, Amelia's temperature rose about a thousand degrees. She did not want him to marry Elizabeth. She shrugged him away.

"I'm not hurt. The governor?"

James seemed to remember himself and straightened up. "The governor is safe. He is back at the house."

She wouldn't let herself look at him. "And Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth...Elizabeth has been taken captive."

"Captive!"

"Yes. Come, I'll take you home."

When they arrived at the governor's mansion, Governor Swann took Amelia into his arms. "My dear! My dear! They haven't taken you too!"

"No, Father. I am safe."

"Thank you, Commodore."

"You should thank Will Turner. He hid me in Mr. Brown's shop."

The governor nodded. "I will thank him. You must be freezing. Go up and put something on, and then you are to help the commodore to locate Elizabeth."

"What?"

"I'll explain it to you when you come back down. Go."

She ran upstairs and stood by the fire to get warm. She took off James's coat and set it aside. She picked it up again and ran it across her cheek. It smelled like him; like his shaving soap and pipe tobacco and the sea air. She set the coat down again and dressed in her blue dress from the day before. She went back downstairs and returned the garment to the commodore, who donned it.

"Thank you. Come with me to my office; or what's left of it." The three of them moved to the middle of town, where two walls of the militia office were blown apart.

"Why do you need me here?"

He sighed, as if she should already know the answer. "You are good with maps and you know where a pirate would go. You must show us where they might take her."

"Why should I know where a pirate would go?"

"Let's drop the pretense, shall we? Sparrow was muttering something about a coin when they dragged him to jail. Do you know anything about it?"

Amelia knew about the Aztec gold. About the piece that Elizabeth had found around Will's neck all those years ago, and about the pulse that they had felt in the water when she fell in. She didn't dare share the knowledge; it would only make things worse for her, now that she was associated with a pirate. She only divulged the position of the Isla de Muerta, where they would take Elizabeth to retrieve the blood to be repayed.

"They've taken her! They've taken Elizabeth!" Will showed up, hatchet in hand.

"Mr. Murtogg, remove this man." James didn't even look at Will; he kept poring over his map.

"We have to hunt them down. We must save her."

"And where do you propose we start?" Governor Swann asked. "If you have any information regarding my daughter, please share it, because if not, Amelia has given us a course."

"That Jack Sparrow, he talked about the Black Pearl," said Murtogg.

"Mentioned it, is more what he did."

"Ask him where it is," Will said. "Make a deal with him. He could lead us to it."

"No. The pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell. Ergo, they are not his allies."

"He's right, Will." Amelia said.

"How could you take his side?"

"I'm doing what I know is best to save my sister. I'll not take anyone's side."

James still didn't acknowledge Will. "Governor, we will establish their most likely course."

The hatchet hit the table. "That's not good enough!"

"Will!" Amelia backed him away from the table.

"Mr. Turner, you are not a military man. You are not a sailor. You are a blacksmith. And this is not the moment for rash actions." James leaned closer to Will. "Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are the only man here who cares for Elizabeth."

Amelia let Will go and started away from the office. When she got to where the door used to be, James stopped her without even looking at her.

"Amelia, we leave immediately."

"No."

"No?"

"No. I won't leave without seeing Jack Sparrow first."

"Amelia, dear one, you can't. I won't let you be near that pirate." It seemed that Governor Swann had forgotten the fact that that pirate was her real father.

"She already was."

"What?"

"James, no!"

"That's where I found her yesterday, governor."

"Amelia!"

"Yes. I went to see him. But that was different. Right now I have reason I believe that he will give me the information we need."

"We have the information we need. You've given us a course."

"One cannot sail I to a fight with pirates without knowing what one is fighting."

"We're the King's navy."

"That won't scare them. Do you think that they became pirates because they were afraid of the king?"

"Commodore, please escort her to the jail," Governor Swann instructed.

"Sir, surely..."

"That's an order."

James sighed and took Amelia's elbow. She pulled it away and walked out in front of him. When the two got to the jail again and down the stairs, they found an empty cell.

"Amelia..."

"He's gone."

"Guards!" Two soldiers came down the stairs. "The pirate has escaped. Make sure he doesn't leave this island. Go!"

Amelia climbed over the cell door, which was lying broken in the entry. She looked for any clue to his whereabouts.

"Come out of there. We can't afford to waste time."

"Don't I have a say in whether I stay or go? Am I not an adult?"

"What has come over you? A week ago, if Elizabeth had been kidnapped, you would have jumped at the chance to help me. But now...why?"

_'Well, a week ago, you weren't engaged to her,'_ she said to herself. "Commodore, I will go home and get my things and meet you on the docks in an hour."

When she tried to leave, he took her by the hand and pulled her back to him.

"This is hardly proper, Commodore."

"Stop it. Why won't you give me an answer?"

"I don't have an answer. Everything has changed, James." She stared into his eyes for a moment, and then ran up the stairs, hoping with everything that she had that he would not follow her.


	6. Lawrence Norrington

That evening, Amelia was settled in her quarters aboard the Dauntless. James had given her his cabin, and he was to sleep in his office. She had changed clothes; now she wore a pair of boys' breeches, a shirt, and a pair of boots. She was pouring over a map with a glass when there was a knock at her door.

"Who's there?"

"It's uh, it's James."

She stood and tried to look as dignified as possible when she opened the door. The commodore stood there in his uniform, with his back straight an his hands behind it.

"Yes?"

"Come out here, please, where we can speak in propriety."

She put her jacket on and stepped out onto the deck. They walked to the bow of the ship, where no one would disturb them.

"Amelia, I have to know...what did you mean this morning when you said that everything has changed?"

"What?"

"You said that you couldn't answer me, because everything had changed. I hope that you don't presume that if Elizabeth and I marry, you and I can no longer be friends."

_'Actually, you've hit the nail on the head.'_ She shook her head. She didn't have the courage to tell him the truth. "No, I don't think that. You and Elizabeth make a handsome couple, and I hope you will be happy together."

"Good."

"Wait, did you say if she accepts your proposal?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, she hasn't given me an answer yet. I had only just asked her when she fell over the battlement back in Port Royal."

"Oh."

"Amelia, may I ask you something, as my dearest friend?"

"Yes."

"Do you think she will accept?"

Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at her commodore. He was genuinely concerned that Elizabeth would refuse his proposal.

"I think that you are the most honorable, kindhearted, upstanding man that ever was, and if she doesn't accept you, she's a fool."

He gave a small smile. Amelia was dying inside.

"Do you forgive me for yelling at you back in Port Royal?"

"No." He gave her a look. "Yes. But I wonder...will you answer a question for me, as my dearest friend?"

He smiled. "Yes."

"Why do you hate pirates so much?"

"Well, I…I don't know if I wish to divulge the details to you at the present. It may not be a proper thing for a gentleman to discuss his life story with a lady."

"James, I think that proper behavior left us awhile ago."

He sighed. "Alright."

He took her shoulders and turned her around, so that his back was to the rest of the ship. "When I was a small boy, around six years old, my father was an admiral in the Royal Navy. He took me on a mission to capture Edward Teague. I suppose you know…"

"Yes. My grandfather."

"Well, there was a battle. It was awful, and chaotic. Captain Teague's crew was trying to save his son…your father…from my father's ship."

"I remember being told about that battle. I wasn't told that you or your father were involved."

"Well, I was knocked overboard by accident. And Captain Teague rescued me."

"Yes. I remember him telling me once that he saved a young boy from the water. And then you did the same for Will. On our trip from England."

"Yes, I suppose I did."

"But I still don't understand. Why do you hate them?"

"My father hated pirates. And he was humiliated to be indebted to one. As grateful as he was, he said that he would have rather I died, than to be rescued by such a man."

"Oh. Oh, James, I'm so sorry. That's awful." She squeezed his arm.

"'You need to be brave, son', he said. 'There are men out there who are savages, and they want to destroy your entire way of life. They are uncivilized, heathen, thieving, filthy pirates, and when I have gone to final rest, it is you who will carry on the banner of civility and order, and help the Crown and our allies in the East India Trading Company eradicate their slime from the Seven Seas.' That's what he said to me, right before I fell in. I remember it as clear as day."

"James, I…"

"Sir! Sir, we're sailing in the direction of a wicked storm!" A young sailor saluted James and continued. "Should we avoid it, sir?"

"No. We stay our course. We cannot afford to lose one minute." The sailor saluted again and left. "Amelia, go back to your cabin."

"But I can help."

"Amelia, do as he says." The governor kissed her on the forehead. "I could not bear it if you fell overboard and I lost you, too."

"Yes, sir." James took Amelia by the arm and led her back to the cabin, where he deposited her and left. Not ten minutes later, the first crack of thunder sounded.

"Man the sails! Make the boats fast!" The sailors all shouted above the winds. She heard the fall of boots on the deck.

She wasn't having this.

Amelia put on her coat and walked out onto the deck, where she was immediately drenched by torrential rain. She ran to the bow, where she found James struggling to hold the rope to the mainsail. She grabbed on.

"What are you doing out here?! Go back inside! That's an order, sailor!"

"Don't order me about, James Norrington! I'm a better sailor than three quarters of your crew, and you know it!"

"Amelia, I don't want you to get hurt!"

Amelia thought for one rash moment, and then pulled his face towards her and crashed her lips into his. She didn't think he would respond to her, but he forgot the rigging for a moment and pulled her tightly to his chest. He kissed her back feverishly. And then, all at once, he remembered himself, and pushed her away.

"If you want to help, go and see to the sailors on the stern. Go!"

Amelia struggled to find her footing to the back of the ship. She was in a daze, and the water was churning them to and fro. The Dauntless came through the storm.


	7. The Truth

Amelia awoke late the next morning, and she didn't want to move. She was sore from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. She couldn't remember why she felt so bad for a moment. And then it came back to her.

The storm. The rope. The kiss.

She pulled a pillow over her head and rolled over, groaning at her own stupidity.

Had he kissed her back? She couldn't remember.

There was a knock.

She froze in terror.

"Oh, God, please don't let it be him," she whispered.

"Amelia?" She felt immediate relief as it was the voice of Governor Swann coming through the door. "Are you awake, dear?"

"Yes. I'm just...I'm just getting dressed." She flew out of bed and started to put on her clothes.

"Well, we've been holding breakfast for you for a half an hour."

"I'm sorry. I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright. Do hurry along, dear."

Amelia tidied her dark hair into one long braid, pulled on her boots, and then left the cabin. When she arrived at breakfast, James Norrington was sitting at the table, talking to the captain about their course. He looked in her direction just for a brief second before continuing with his conversation. She was so distracted that she tripped over her chair and fell onto the floor.

"Amelia! What's come over you, dear?" The governor asked, as he and the other men jumped to her aid.

"I'm sorry, Father. I just find myself a little distracted today." She righted her chair and sat down. She was unwilling to meet James' clear green eyes, which were staring right at her. "What is our situation, Captain Johansson?"

"We are making excellent time. We were only blown slightly off course by the storm. Miss Sparrow, you are certain of the position of Isla de Muerta?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. We should make it there by tonight, if we..."

Amelia could still feel James' eyes on her. She stood up from the table. "Gentlemen, by your leave, I am not feeling well this morning."

"Are you alright, my dear?" The governor took her hand.

"Yes, just fine. Thank you. I am...a bit fatigued after last night's adventure."

"Well, go and rest, while we are in tranquility."

Amelia smiled and nodded, and then left the room. She was at the rail next to her cabin when James found her.

"Amelia."

"Please don't."

"Don't what?"

"You're engaged to my guardian's daughter. As far as I'm concerned what happened last night...what happened last night never happened. Savvy?"

"No. I need to talk to you about it. Please."

"I can't."

"Amelia, look at me."

She did, reluctantly. What she found made her legs go weak. Her James was looking at her like he never had. He had a slight smile on his lips, and his eyes were shining. His proper posture was gone, and she could see a bit of human in him now.

"Please talk to me, dear."

She looked at the foaming water, swirling up into small standing falls. She could see dolphins just under the surface. She decided to tell him everything. "I wanted to kiss you, so badly. Because I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since I was eighteen. And I can't help myself. I've tried and tried and tried to stop, especially now that you're in love with Elizabeth, and you want to marry her, not me. But James...I love you. When we get back to Port Royal, I'm leaving. I'm going back to England."

"What? No!"

"Yes. I can't stay on the same island where you share your married life with someone else. It would hurt too much."

"Amelia, please, please don't do that. I can't imagine what life would be like without you."

"But you…"

James took her in his arms and planted a deep, serious kiss square on her mouth.

"I appreciate your kindness in saying that Elizabeth would accept my proposal yesterday. But it was a lie, and we both know it. She isn't in love with me. And I find, lately that I cannot imagine myself married to her. She is young, and if you'll excuse my brashness, silly. Amelia, I..."

"James, look!" She pointed to the horizon, where a white column of smoke was rising. He yelled to the captain to come about. They came to a small island, where two figures were waiting on the beach. When they came closer, they saw that one was Elizabeth, and the other was Jack Sparrow.

"Landing party! Assemble!" James left her to help get the dinghy underway. "Amelia, come along!"

Without question, she jumped into the boat. She didn't know it now, but soon, she would wish Elizabeth hadn't been found.


	8. The Rescue

"Jack!" Amelia jumped out of the dinghy and ran to her father. Just before she embraced him, she remembered that she was supposed to hate him and she stepped back.

"Amelia, darlin'! I thought you might come and rescue me."

"Why are you here?"

"Mutiny. By one Hector Barbossa."

"Again?"

"Aye. That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship. Are you all right? I was worried about you the other night, when they attacked Port Royal."

"I'm fine. I knew that they weren't with you." Now that she knew Jack was alive, it was time for business. "Mr. Sparrow, that ship is waiting for you to board it."

"So, it's Mr. Sparrow now, is it?"

"Go."

When the party got back onboard the Dauntless, James gave the order to turn around in the direction of Port Royal.

"What do you mean? We have to go after the other ship!" Amelia protested.

"No. We have accomplished our mission."

"But we've got to save Will!" Elizabeth shouted.

"No." The governor took Elizabeth's shoulders. "You and your sister are safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting off after pirates."

"Then we condemn him to death," Amelia said.

"The boy's fate is regrettable," replied her father. "But then, so was his decision to engage in piracy."

"To rescue me! To prevent anything from happening to me!"

Jack Sparrow stepped forward. "If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion. The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it. The Black Pearl. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate." He leaned in close to James, who grimaced at the rum soaked smell of the pirate's breath. "With our history together? How could you pass that up?"

"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow. Not only myself. Come, Amelia."

"Commodore, I beg you." Elizabeth pushed Amelia away from James and put a hand on his arm. Amelia wanted to push her back.

"Please do this for me. As a wedding gift."

"No. Elizabeth, don't..." Amelia stopped short. Instead of telling Elizabeth that he had changed his mind about marrying her, as he had told Amelia, he stayed silent. Amelia knew that everything had been forgotten about. That she had only been his fallback plan, in case Elizabeth refused. She hid her face from the rest so that they wouldn't see her tears.

"Elizabeth. Are you accepting the commodore's proposal?"Governor Swann asked.

"I am."

Everyone was silent for a moment. James gave Amelia an apologetic look. She raised her chin to him, so that he would know she didn't forgive him this time. Jack spoke up again. "Oh, a wedding! I love weddings. Drinks all around!"

"Shut up, you stupid pirate!" Amelia whispered.

No one else responded. Jack put his arms out. "I know. Clap him in irons, right?"

"Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase, 'Silent as the grave.' Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably clear."

"Amelia, I would like to speak to you in my office, please." James made to take her by the hand, but she pulled back.

"I'm sure that whatever you have to say to me can wait until we are back in Port Royal, sir."

"Amelia-"

"Come, Jack." She pulled her father towards the helm.


	9. Being From the Point of View of James

The plan to save Will was not solid yet. All of the soldiers and Amelia and Jack were waiting in the dark in rowboats just off the shore of Isla de Muerta. Jack was trying to convince James to do things his way.

"I don't care for the situation," James said. "Any attempt to storm the caves could turn into an ambush."

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing. Amelia and I go in, convince Barbossa to send his men out with their little boats. You and your men return to the Dauntless and blast the bejesus out of them with your little cannons, eh?"

"Why do you need to take Amelia?"

"Simply put? They'll take her for collateral."

"You're out if your mind, pirate."

"Most definitely," Jack said. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's the only way."

"He's right, James," Amelia said.

"No. I won't let you offer yourself up as bait."

"It isn't your concern what I do."

James looked at her, pleading with her silently to listen to him. Jack put an arm around him. "What do you have to lose?"

James peeled Jack's arm off of him. "Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

"How about my daughter? Would you like to lose her? Because I'll take her away from here so fast that your bewigged head will spin."

"Jack. That doesn't matter. He doesn't care for me in that way. He's engaged to Elizabeth."

"Amelia, I…"

"Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a slight risk for those aboard the Dauntless which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

Future Mrs. Commodore. It was like Jack wanted Amelia to feel worse.

"What is the risk?"

"Ah, you're curious."

Amelia scurried along the caves of Isla de Muerta with her father. Jack had been sent to make the negotiations. Amelia had gone with him, without a second glance at James.

"So...Gibbs tells me that you left his guardianship when you made it to Jamaica. Why?"

"He had no house. I still saw him when I could. But the governor offered to take me in, and I went."

"Of your own volition?"

"I was fourteen years old. Of course it was of my own volition. I had been around pirates my entire life, and I wanted a change. It was a welcome change."

"You call him your father. Did you hate me so much?"

"I didn't. Not until you decided that your treasure was more important than your daughter."

"You had food and clothes, did you not?"

"Yeah, I suppose I did. But I wanted to be loved."

"I do love you."

"That's a good story. Now will you shut up and move? They're going to hear us."

They saw Barbossa holding a knife above Will. He started the words.

"By blood begun. By blood undone."

"Excuse me."

"Jack! Amelia!" Will shouted.

"It's not possible." Barbossa said

"Not probable," Jack retorted.

"Where is Elizabeth?"

"She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word, really, except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."

"Shut up!" Barbossa cried. "You're next!" He leaned in to slit Will's throat again.

"You don't wanna be doing that, mate." Jack was swaying around, drunk as usual.

"No, I really think I do."

"Your funeral."

Barbossa looked like he didn't care, and then he lowered the knife.

"Why don't I want to be doing it?"

"Well, because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the British Royal Navy, is floating just offshore. Waiting for you. Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless. They do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl? Name me captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?"

"I suppose, in exchange, you'll want me not to kill the whelp, or your little daughter there."

"No, no, not at all. Well, I definitely don't want you to kill me daughter. But by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet."

Amelia rolled her eyes. He would always be a pirate.

"You wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment." Jack played around in the chest of coins in front of Barbossa. "For instance, after you've killed Norrington's men? Every. last. one."

"Jack! How dare you!" Amelia lunged at him. Two of Barbossa's men held her back. "He trusted you!"

"Yeah. Probably not the best decision one can make, to trust a pirate. Besides, it's not like you care for him anymore, is it?"

"You've been planning this from the beginning, ever since you learned my name," Will said.

"Yeah."

"I want fifty percent of your plunder," Barbossa said.

"Fifteen."

"Forty."

"Twenty-five. And I'll buy you a hat. I really big one."

Barbossa thought for a long moment.

"We have an accord." They shook hands on the bargain.

"You bastard!" Amelia shouted.

"Yeah, I am. Oh well. All hands to the boats!" Barbossa shot him a look. "Apologies, you give the orders."

"Gents," Barbossa growled. "Take a walk."

"Not to the boats?" Jack was puzzled.

"No. And we keep your precious girl as collateral." They took Amelia away, kicking and screaming. Now that she knew what Jack was planning, she didn't want any part of it.


	10. The Plan

The plan to save Will was not solid yet. All of the soldiers and Amelia and Jack were waiting in the dark in rowboats just off the shore of Isla de Muerta. Jack was trying to convince James to do things his way.

"I don't care for the situation," James said. "Any attempt to storm the caves could turn into an ambush."

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing. Amelia and I go in, convince Barbossa to send his men out with their little boats. You and your men return to the Dauntless and blast the bejesus out of them with your little cannons, eh?"

"Why do you need to take Amelia?"

"Simply put? They'll take her for collateral."

"You're out if your mind, pirate."

"Most definitely," Jack said. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's the only way."

"He's right, James," Amelia said.

"No. I won't let you offer yourself up as bait."

"It isn't your concern what I do."

James looked at her, pleading with her silently to listen to him. Jack put an arm around him. "What do you have to lose?"

James peeled Jack's arm off of him. "Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

"How about my daughter? Would you like to lose her? Because I'll take her away from here so fast that your bewigged head will spin."

"Jack. That doesn't matter. He doesn't care for me in that way. He's engaged to Elizabeth."

"Amelia, I…"

"Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a slight risk for those aboard the Dauntless which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

Future Mrs. Commodore. It was like Jack wanted Amelia to feel worse.

"What is the risk?"

"Ah, you're curious."

Amelia scurried along the caves of Isla de Muerta with her father. Jack had been sent to make the negotiations. Amelia had gone with him, without a second glance at James.

"So...Gibbs tells me that you left his guardianship when you made it to Jamaica. Why?"

"He had no house. I still saw him when I could. But the governor offered to take me in, and I went."

"Of your own volition?"

"I was fourteen years old. Of course it was of my own volition. I had been around pirates my entire life, and I wanted a change. It was a welcome change."

"You call him your father. Did you hate me so much?"

"I didn't. Not until you decided that your treasure was more important than your daughter."

"You had food and clothes, did you not?"

"Yeah, I suppose I did. But I wanted to be loved."

"I do love you."

"That's a good story. Now will you shut up and move? They're going to hear us."

They saw Barbossa holding a knife above Will. He started the words.

"By blood begun. By blood undone."

"Excuse me."

"Jack! Amelia!" Will shouted.

"It's not possible." Barbossa said

"Not probable," Jack retorted.

"Where is Elizabeth?"

"She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word, really, except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."

"Shut up!" Barbossa cried. "You're next!" He leaned in to slit Will's throat again.

"You don't wanna be doing that, mate." Jack was swaying around, drunk as usual.

"No, I really think I do."

"Your funeral."

Barbossa looked like he didn't care, and then he lowered the knife.

"Why don't I want to be doing it?"

"Well, because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the British Royal Navy, is floating just offshore. Waiting for you. Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless. They do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl? Name me captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?"

"I suppose, in exchange, you'll want me not to kill the whelp, or your little daughter there."

"No, no, not at all. Well, I definitely don't want you to kill me daughter. But by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet."

Amelia rolled her eyes. He would always be a pirate.

"You wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment." Jack played around in the chest of coins in front of Barbossa. "For instance, after you've killed Norrington's men? Every. last. one."

"Jack! How dare you!" Amelia lunged at him. Two of Barbossa's men held her back. "He trusted you!"

"Yeah. Probably not the best decision one can make, to trust a pirate. Besides, it's not like you care for him anymore, is it?"

"You've been planning this from the beginning, ever since you learned my name," Will said.

"Yeah."

"I want fifty percent of your plunder," Barbossa said.

"Fifteen."

"Forty."

"Twenty-five. And I'll buy you a hat. I really big one."

Barbossa thought for a long moment.

"We have an accord." They shook hands on the bargain.

"You bastard!" Amelia shouted.

"Yeah, I am. Oh well. All hands to the boats!" Barbossa shot him a look. "Apologies, you give the orders."

"Gents," Barbossa growled. "Take a walk."

"Not to the boats?" Jack was puzzled.

"No. And we keep your precious girl as collateral." They took Amelia away, kicking and screaming. Now that she knew what Jack was planning, she didn't want any part of it.


	11. Two in a Boat

Amelia was bound and gagged and dragged to the boat with Pintel and Ragetti. They were wearing women's dresses and carrying parasols. It appeared as though the plan was something of a Trojan Horse idea. They made her sit in the middle, and rowed out in front of the Dauntless. Amelia knew James was on that ship, waiting for the pirates to leave the cave. While the soldiers were distracted by the two in the rowboat, the moonlight revealed the true forms of the pirates; the forms of decaying men. They walked straight into the sea, and Amelia gasped in horror as they reached the Dauntless. Pintel and Ragetti began to fight, and revealed themselves as well. Amelia knew that James saw her, because she heard him yell her name.

Pintel and Ragetti rowed to the ship and left Amelia in the boat while they boarded. She saw numerous men fall overboard. Jack Sparrow was fighting Barbossa in the cave, and Elizabeth had gone in to save Will. Everything was a disaster.

A man fell overboard and slammed into the rowboat, capsizing it and sending Amelia into the water. She couldn't swim because her arms were tied behind her back. She fought to get them free. She couldn't. Her head broke water every few seconds, and she breathed as deeply as she could through her nose before going back under. She tried screaming, but she couldn't do anything. She felt herself start slipping away.

Someone jumped into the water. She felt strong arms lifting her out of the water. She had a few seconds to look into the eyes of her father…her real father…before she passed out.

She woke up in her room on the Dauntless. Jack was there, in irons, along with Governor Swann.

"Amelia? Oh, Amelia, thank Heaven!" Jack kissed her on the forehead.

"Jack? What happened?"

"It appears as though the curse has been lifted."

"And the Pearl?"

"Sailed away."

"No. But that means…"

"That's right, love."

"No! They can't!" She started to get up. Jack was dragged out of the room.

"Father, you can't hang him! You can't!"

"Amelia, calm down please! You'll just upset yourself."

"You have upset me! I know that you have been my guardian, and that you consider me as a daughter, but you must understand that my bond with Jack Sparrow cannot be severed. Please don't. Please." She couldn't hold back her tears. Her throat seized.

"Go to sleep now, darling. We will be back in Port Royal before nightfall."

He left the room. She could not go back to sleep. She put on her blue dress and went out on the deck.

"Amelia?" Her back tensed. It was him. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to be on the same ship as him. "You shouldn't be out of your room. What are you doing out here?" James asked. He put his coat around her shoulders. She shrugged it off.

"I'm thinking."

"About?"

"Just things. It's not a crime to think, is it?"

"Amelia, will you look at me?"

She stood very still, looking out on the horizon.

"I..."

"How are your plans for the wedding, Commodore?"

"The wedding? Oh, is that what this is about?"

"Just answer the question."

"They're fine. How are you?"

"Still alone."

"You...you know...you've always known what I wanted."

"James, before we rescued Elizabeth and Jack, you told me that you didn't want to marry her because she was silly. You kissed me. You kissed me. Not the other way around. So forgive me if I seem a little bit upset."

"Amelia, I told you that because I thought that Elizabeth would refuse me. But I cannot go back on my word now. It would be dishonorable. I will always care for you, too."

"You will care for me, too? Is that supposed to make me forget about everything?"

He gripped the railing. "This is the choice that I've made. I will not yield. But I do love you."


	12. The Gallows

It was a speedy and unfair trial. Jack was sentenced to the gallows. Amelia made her plans to leave Port Royal. She decided to visit him in the prison once before she had to watch him walk to the noose.

"Amelia!" He leapt off of the pallet on the floor and over to the bars. "I'm so glad you're here, pet."

"I wasn't sure you would want to see me."

"Of course I did, darlin'."

"I came to tell you goodbye. I'm going back to England."

"When?"

"After…you know."

Jack put his hand to his neck. "Bugger."

"Yeah. Jack, I'm sorry for—"

"Nope. No apologies, love. I was a terrible father to you, and you've found a new family now."

"No. You're my father. I thought that you didn't care, but I know you do. You jumped into that water to save me, even though you could have made an escape. I love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Amelia. Now you should get out of here. A dark damp prison is no place for a beautiful lady."

She grabbed his hand between the bars. He held on tightly, and then called for the guard to escort her out.

The next day was the day. At dawn, the whole colony was in the square to see the pirate hang. Amelia planned to make her escape during the execution.

When she and her family were at their place to watch, Commodore Norrington came to stand with them. Amelia made it a point to move and stand on the other side of the governor. James looked at her and then at the ground.

Jack was led to the noose. The crier began to read from a piece of paper. The death warrant.

"Jack Sparrow, be it known that you have been sentenced for your willful commission of crimes against the crown. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, the most egregious of these to be cited herewith. Piracy, smuggling..."

"This is wrong," Elizabeth said to her father as she watched Jack. Amelia didn't say anything. She knew it was wrong. This is what happened to all pirates.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law. As are we all."

"Yes, he's quite upstanding. He would never yield to a pirate." Amelia stole a look at him and then looked back at Jack.

"Miss Sparrow, I..."

"...impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy. Impersonating a cleric of the Church of England. Sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation, and general lawlessness. And for these crimes you have been sentence to be, on this day, hung by the neck until dead. May God have mercy on your soul."

Will came to stand in front of the governor and the rest. "Governor Swann. Commodore."

He took Amelia's hands. "Amelia. I am so sorry that you have to witness this today. It shouldn't be happening. And I'm glad that we are friends, no matter what happens." He looked at her intensely, and she knew he was planning something. He hugged her.

"Thank you, Will."

"Elizabeth." He said her name with a whisper. "I should have told you every day from the moment I met you. I love you."

Will walked away. Commodore Norrington looked uncomfortable. Amelia was glad he did. He deserved it.

As the noose was placed around Jack's neck, Elizabeth said she couldn't breathe and fainted. The trapdoor was released. Amelia looked away, waiting for the applause. It didn't come.

"Move!" Will shouted. He threw his sword just as Jack fell through the trap door. He had a foothold now. Will fought to the gallows and cut the pirate free. Amelia drew a sword from one of the soldiers standing by. She fought off the men who would kill her father and her best friend.

"Amelia! How dare you?" James ran up to the tower where his men had cornered the three of them. "You know the law!"

"I absolutely know the law. But I also know what is right. Just because your moral compass doesn't point north, doesn't mean mine is broken."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind! This man is my father, and the only thing that he is guilty of is helping to rescue your fiancee from bad men. I guess I don't understand how you can kill a person for that."

"He was sentenced to die for his other crimes. And you know it. Now come over here."

"A week ago, Commodore, I might have been inclined to acquiesce to your request. But I'm my own person. I'll do as I please. And it pleases me to save my father."

The governor looked hurt. Amelia kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sorry. You have been my guardian, and I love you. You have given me so much. And it kills me to be standing on this side of the swords. But I know that this is the right thing."

"No more stories! I thought we might have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt, but not from you." James' sword was pointed at Will's throat.

The governor stepped forward. "On our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency. And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate!"

"And a good man. If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

"You forget your place, Turner," Norrington said.

"It's right here. Between you and Jack."

"As is mine." Amelia threw down her sword, knowing she was headed for the same fate as her father.

Elizabeth stood beside him. "And mine."

"Elizabeth! Amelia!" Governor Swann said. "Lower your weapons! For goodness sake put them down!"

"So this is where your heart truly lies, then?" James asked. His eyes were misty as they looked at Elizabeth's face.

"It is."

Amelia saw Mr. Cotton's parrot fly over the crowd, and Jack noticed it too. "Well, I'm actually feeling rather good about this. I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually. Ecumenically. Grammatically."

He walked over to James. "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate. Until you broke me daughter's heart. Then I wanted to rip yours out to give to her. Know that. Elizabeth? It would never have worked out between us, darling. I'm sorry. Will...nice hat. Amelia...I am so sorry, love. But I know that this life is better than the one I could have given you. And I think you know it too. Don't do anything stupid. I love you, darling." He hugged her to him. She hugged him back.

"I love you too."

"Friends!" He walked to the battlement. "This is the day that you will always remember as the day that..." He fell over the wall.

"Idiot," Gillette said. "He has nowhere to go but the noose. What's your plan of action, sir?"

"Perhaps," Governor Swann said, "on the rare occasion that pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy, piracy itself can be the right course?"

"Mr. Turner!" James stood with his soldier's posture.

"Please, Governor! Don't let him do this to Will. Let him go," Amelia pleaded.

James put his hand up.

Elizabeth tried to hold Will back. He held her hands.

"I will accept the consequences of my actions."

James pulled his sword out of the scabbard. Amelia looked away. She expected to hear the clatter of irons. She heard nothing. She looked back to see that James was examining the very sword that Will had made for his promotion.

"This is a beautiful sword. I would expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life."

Will smiled in relief. "Thank you."

"Commodore! What about Sparrow?"

"Well, I think we can afford to give him one day's head start." James smiled sadly and left.

Back at the governor's house, Amelia knocked on the door to her guardian's study.

"Sir?"

"Come in, child."

She did so, and stood in front of the desk. "I am so…so sorry for everything that's happened today. I hope you can forgive me."

"My dear," he said, getting up from the desk. "You were acting on behalf of your family, and that can never be a bad thing. I know that you love your father. And you are not a pirate. One's past does not make one's future."

She hugged him, and she didn't want to let go. When he pulled back, he noticed that she had been crying into his shoulder.

"What? What is it, my dear?"

"It's nothing. I'm just relieved that everything is over."

"No. These aren't tears of relief. What is it?" He pulled her back to him. "Are these tears for the commodore?"

"What? How did you know?"

"I may be old, but I'm not blind. I've seen the way you look at him. And the way he looks at you."

"I shouldn't feel this way. He was never mine to love."

"But now that Elizabeth isn't going to marry him, you have a chance, yes?"

"No. I won't be his second choice."

"Amelia. Sit down, dear." She sat across from him. "Do you know that I was engaged to be married before I fell in love with Elizabeth's mother?"

"Really?"

"Yes. I was engaged to a woman named Elysia before I met my dear sweet Anne. And when I discovered that I was in love with Anne, I still stayed with Elysia because it was a matter of honor. I believe that was the commodore's true motive. It isn't that he doesn't love you. It's that he had already made his mind up about Elizabeth, and so felt compelled to honor that commitment. Do you still love him?"

"I do."

"Well, there you have it."

"But I don't know if I can forgive him."

"Well, then don't. Be angry for awhile. Everyone is entitled to a little anger. But then, forgive him, and see what wonderful things will become of it."

"Thank you." She walked around the desk and gave him another hug. "Father?"

"That's nice to hear you call me that. What is it?"

"Whatever became of Elysia?"

"You know, it's funny. I don't know."


	13. Dearest Amelia

A month later, the talk about the pirate and the governor's ward had finally died down. Will had formally proposed to Elizabeth, she had accepted, and now wedding plans were underway.

And Amelia still couldn't forgive James.

She had begun granting his audience requests, but was aloof in her manner towards him; when he would come for tea, she would ask him how he liked it prepared, where before, she would prepare it with no questions because she knew how he liked it.

At parties, she always found someone to talk to so that she was occupied.

At the ball to celebrate the engagement, she refused his offer to dance, making the excuse that her card was filled.

She thought that perhaps she was behaving a bit childishly. But she didn't care.

One particular afternoon, James joined her in the garden for lunch. The governor had permitted that just the two of them should dine together; he was hoping that Amelia would forgive the commodore and they would marry.

"The chicken is spectacular," he said on that afternoon, wiping his mouth on the corner of his napkin.

"I'll be sure to pass on your compliments to the cook." She wouldn't look him in the eye. She hadn't done so since the day he was going to hang her father.

"Thank you." He swirled his wine glass around, staring into the claret-colored liquid, mesmerized. "Amelia, I would very much like to discuss the events of last month with you."

"What events are those?"

"You know very well-" he had raised his voice, but stopped when Estrella came to clear the plates and serve tea. He whispered, "You know very well what events. Now please, dear...please talk to me. As we used to talk."

"Things cannot be as they were, Commodore. Too many things have happened."

He stood and walked around the table, pulled her chair out, and knelt in front of her. "Please, Amelia. I'm a man on my knees. I'm begging you. I want you to be my wife."

"Your wife?!" She stood and then sat back down. "Your wife?"

"Yes. I love you."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"I don't know. But it's the truth."

"James, I can't look at you the same way! You kissed me on that ship. You told me that you didn't want to marry Elizabeth. And then as soon as she said she would marry you, you abandoned me!"

"I told you why."

"And I don't believe it. I don't believe that any man, even one so dutiful as you, would marry a woman he didn't love and leave behind a woman he did. So what's the real reason?"

"I just told you."

"No." She stood. He stayed on the ground and yelled after her.

"I was afraid!"

Amelia turned. "Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of you. Of your spirit. Can you imagine me, boring James Norrington, married to a spitfire like you?"

"I could. I did. But now, I can't. Good day, Commodore." She went back into the house.

Later that afternoon, while she was enjoying a game of cards with Elizabeth, Estrella came into the drawing room with a note.

"Miss Amelia, this is for you. The commodore dropped it by."

"Thank you, Estrella." Amelia opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

_Dearest Amelia,_

_I regret that I have not won over your affections. I love you dearly, and probably always will. You told me a few weeks ago that you could not bear to be on the same island with me as I shared my life with another. Well, I find the same to be true of myself. I cannot bear to be on the same island with you when you will not share your life with me. I am leaving Port Royal. I plan to redeem myself, and if I succeed, perhaps one day I can win you._

_Love Always,_

_James_

Amelia folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth, I cannot finish our game."

"Why? Is it bad news?"

"No. I just...I just have to go." She tore from the room and up to her bedroom, where she lay on the bed and cried for an hour. Her James was gone. And it took him leaving to realize that she should have accepted his proposal.


	14. Setting Sail

"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Governor Swann said, putting down his cup of tea. Amelia had announced her plan for departure at the breakfast table.

"There is a ship leaving for England tomorrow. I plan to be on it."

"I think that's incredibly selfish," Elizabeth said. "My wedding is in two weeks."

"I know that. But it's high time I started to make my own way in life. And I can't stay here. The memories are too painful."

It had been four months since James had resigned and left Port Royal. Amelia had tried to move on with her life. But she couldn't. Not there.

"Promise you'll write to me?" The governor had tears in his eyes.

"Of course, Father."

The next day, Amelia wept as she embraced Governor Swann one more time.

"Goodbye, dear. I want you to take this with you." He held out a large bag of coins.

"No. You cannot give me this."

"I can. I don't want you to be out there with nothing. Please."

"Thank you." She put the bag into her case and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Elizabeth had refused to come to the dock. Will was there, though, and when Amelia had finished saying goodbye to her guardian, she moved on to him.

"Well, I suppose you're off on another adventure," he said.

"Yes. I hope that this one is tamer than the last." They shared a laugh. "I shall miss you, my dear friend."

"And I you, my dear lady. Someday, I know, you'll come back to us. And you'll have seen things that some have only dreamed of. And I will have a family by then. It appears we have grown up without our own knowledge."

"It does." Elizabeth came walking up the dock just then.

"I'm so glad I didn't miss you! I'm sorry for what I said." She embraced her sister.

"So am I. I will miss you."

"I will miss you as well. Stay out of trouble."

"Good luck on your life together."

"All aboard! Step lively!" The captain called. Amelia looked behind her.

"Well, I suppose it's time for me to go. Goodbye, dear ones." Amelia blew a kiss, and before she changed her mind, she walked up the gangplank and onto the deck of the Windstar. She waved to her family, and then was shown to her quarters.

She was on a mission. She would not make it to England. She would find her father.

And it was her worst fear that piracy would be her only option.


	15. Rum and Burning Paper

"Miss Sparrow?" The captain knocked on the door to her cabin. "We're arriving in Tortuga."

"Thank you," she yelled. She finished putting her things in her bag and opened the door.

"Are you sure you want to get off here, miss? It's not safe for a young lady on her own."

"I am certain. Thank you, Captain. And thank you for your discretion toward the governor."

"It is an honor to serve." He bowed and led her out to the gangplank. There was a foul smell on the air; burning paper mixed with rum and vomit. Amelia hadn't seen Tortuga in over fifteen years. The last time she was here, she was five years old, and her mother had said goodbye to Jack for good. But that was a memory for another day. Right now, she was on the search for a man named Gus, whom she was told would be more than willing to help the daughter of Jack Sparrow. She needed a place to stay. She knew that searching the seven seas would do her no good; Jack could be anywhere on them. But if she stayed here, on this port of pirates, he would show up eventually. And she was willing to wait.

"Excuse me?" She asked a passing man. "Do you know where I could find a man named Gus Grayson?"

"He's over there, in that dress shop. Knock on the door if you're there for a dress. Ring twice if you're there on other business." The woman wiped her nose on her sleeve and walked away.

Amelia went to the shop and rang the bell twice. A man appeared; he had one leg and used a crutch to support the other side of his body. His mean snarl went away when he saw that it was a woman at the door.

"Dress customers knock, dearie. You'll be wanting to talk to my wife."

"No, sir. I want to talk to you."

"Oh? And what about?" The snarl was back.

"I'm Amelia Sparrow."

"Sparrow, eh? You wouldn't be kin to Captain Jack, would you?"

"I would. I'm his daughter."

"His daughter? That little skinny thing? No, couldn't be. Jack Sparrow's daughter went to Port Royal with the new governor and that Navy rat, Norrison."

"Norrington."

"Yeah, that's right. That foul git who hangs around here acting like a sultan, ordering people around like he's still in the Navy."

Amelia's stomach dropped. James was here! He had been here the whole time. Gus took another look at her. "Well, I guess you could be Jack's daughter. A might prettier than him, though. Like your mother. What can I do for you, lass?"

"I need a place to stay."

"What? No. Go back to your governor's mansion. Tortuga is…"

"I know. Tortuga is no place for a lady. But I've got to have a place…"

"I said no. Go away." Gus slammed the door in her face. She looked at her feet. That was her only hope in Tortuga. She knew what she had to do. She rang the bell again.

"What?"

"Do you know where I can find Commo…Mr. Norrington?"

"He's usually over at the tavern by now. Right down this street, make a left. And don't ring my bell again!"

Amelia walked down the street. It seemed to take forever, though she was going as fast as her feet would carry her. James was here. She wondered what he would look like. She imagined it would be something like how he looked when he had left. How she had always known him.

When she was almost at the tavern, a drunken man ran into her and she fell in the street. She was covered in mud and something else. When she lifted her arm to smell, she discovered it was vomit. She almost threw up.

"Would you stay out of my damn way?" The man slurred. "I'm trying to go and get drunk."

"I think you're too…" She stopped. It must have been fate. Or something. Because when she looked past the dirt and the tattered clothes, she found her sailor. Her James.

"James Norrington, what's happened to you?"

"Do I know you?" He said it two seconds before he passed out into the street.


	16. Do I Dream?

Amelia checked to see if he was still breathing. He was. She wrenched the half-empty bottle from his hand and threw it to the side. It smashed against a wall. A man stopped and shook his head.

"Headed for trouble, that one."

"Excuse me?"

"All he ever does is drink and mumble about his long lost love. I can tell he's not a pirate; only takes a glass or two before he's like this. Is he bothering you, miss? Do you want me to dispose of him?"

"No, thank you. I am acquainted with this man. Do you know where he lives?"

"Yeah. He's living down at the boarding house."

"Will you help me carry him there?"

"Not a chance."

"Please? For ten shillings?" Amelia knew that a pirate would never be able to pass up money.

"Twenty."

"Fifteen."

"Done." The man lifted James over his shoulder and carried him down the street. Amelia followed. He put James on his bed, carried up two buckets of water, and Amelia paid him.

"You sure you know what you're doing, missy?"

"Aye."

"Alright." He pocketed the coins and left. Amelia closed the door. She turned up the lamps and lit a fire. The room was a mess. She heated some water on the fire and found a cloth in her bag. She cleaned the blood and dirt from James' face. He woke up.

"Am I dreaming?" His voice was weak.

"No." She laid a hand on his forehead. "You've got a fever. You need to sleep."

"I'm thirsty."

She knew he wanted spirits, but she held a cup of water to his lips. "Drink this."

He did so. He coughed and sputtered. She helped him sit up and patted his back. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm just…"

"Drunk."

"Yeah." He lay back on the pillows. "How did you find me?"

"Completely by chance," she said, taking off his boots. He wasn't wearing socks. His feet were bloodied and blistered. She asked him again, "What has happened to you, James Norrington?"

"Don't you know? This is what complete and utter despair looks like." She wrapped his feet in towels after cleaning them. He watched her. "Why are you here?"

"I came to find Jack Sparrow. I found you first. Let me help you off with your coat. It's going to get warm in here."

"Don't help me. I'm not a child." He tried to take off his own coat, but he collapsed on the bed. She helped him. "Thank you."

"Where did you go? I woke up one morning, and the governor said you had gone."

"I had. I needed to leave Port Royal. I couldn't stand being there…the shame was too great."

"I know that you wanted to catch Jack. And I…"

"I hope that you don't think this whole thing is about Jack Sparrow."

"What is it about, then?"

"Don't be stupid. It is about honor. About one honoring one's commitments."

"Ah. Elizabeth. James, she is happy now. I know that you were disappointed that she went back on her word, but she is…" Amelia turned around. James was fast asleep. She settled herself down in the chair next to the bed and fell asleep, too.


	17. Sinking Deeper

Amelia awoke in the middle of the night to James moaning. She sat on the edge of the bed and felt his forehead.

"Your hands are cold," he said.

"No. Your fever is raging." She poured water into the wash bowl and dipped a cloth in it. She placed the folded cloth on his head.

"Stop being so nice to me, will you? I don't deserve it."

She put another pillow behind his head. "Yes you do. Everyone deserves a little kindness once in awhile."

He held her arm. "Stop it."

"Shh. Go to sleep." She started to get up. He held her.

"Don't leave me."

"I won't."

"Will you hold me?" He patted the bed beside him.

"James, that is highly improper..."

"I don't care. And I know you don't care. You're a pirate." He managed a smile. She smiled back.

"Alright. But only because you're ill." She slipped off her shoes and sat against the headboard on top of the covers while he lay under them. He put his arms around her waist and rested his head on her stomach. Her heart was in her throat.

"Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"I love you." Before she could respond, he had drifted off again. She held him there, afraid to move. He moved his head once, and she froze. She couldn't help but to imagine how it would be if she were his wife, holding him like this. If he held her, not because he was ill and afraid, but because he wanted to be close to her. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it, morning light was breaking through the curtains.

Amelia panicked. What had happened! She had spent the night in the same bed as a man! She carefully slid out from under him and left him laying on the pillows. She paced the room.

What if the governor new about this? What if the governor _found out_ about this? She put her hands to her face.

Then she looked at him. He looked...

Peaceful.

She smiled a small smile and walked over to him. She felt for any sign of fever. It was gone. She couldn't help but to stroke his hair for a moment. He smiled.

"You are so good to me."

"Well, someone has to be."


	18. Where Were You?

Three days went by, and James showed Amelia around Tortuga. There wasn't much to show a proper lady, but she wanted to see it all.

On the fourth day, Amelia decided to ask James a question that had been nagging at her since the night she had cleaned his room. She waited until they were on the shoreline where no one would hear them. It was kind of nice out here; almost hard to believe that it was a part of such a derelict place. She looked straight ahead when she asked.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"The other night, when we were fighting about my father, you said that he was closer than I think. What does that mean?"

He sighed. "And we were having such a nice time. Why do we have to talk about this now?"

She looked at him. He conceded.

"When I quitted Port Royal, I was on a mission. I needed to find him. I always planned on going after him, but I let him get a head start in order to win you back. When I couldn't, I decided to bring him to justice myself instead. I was on his tail for a long time, and then I hit that hurricane off of the Ruby Coast and was found adrift. The captain of the rescuing merchant vessel brought me here."

"And that's when you started drinking."

"Yeah."

She nodded, still not looking at him.

"Tell me what you're thinking." He stopped her and stood in front of her.

"I'm just...well, I don't know whether to be flattered that you spared Jack in order to get me, or upset that you sailed through a hurricane alone, like an idiot."

"Is that all?"

"Yes." She caressed his cheek and they continued to walk. When they got back to the boarding house, James said he was going to go and find something for them to eat for dinner. Amelia nodded and he left.

After giving the room a once-over, she took a needle and thread out of her back and started to mend some of his clothes. He was gone for a long time. She looked at the clock on the mantle. An hour and a half already.

When she finished with the mending, Amelia started a letter to Governor Swann.

_Dear Father,_

_How is everything at home? I am safe, still aboard the Windstar. I hope that this letter finds you well._

She couldn't think of anything else to write. She certainly couldn't tell him about anything that had happened so far. She folded the letter and decided to try again later.

She looked at the clock again. Two hours. She lit a fire and put on a pot of water for tea.

Two and a half hours.

She sipped at her tea and began to get worried.

Three and a half hours.

She needed to go out and find him. When she put on her cloak and opened the door, she did.


	19. Out in the Hall

James was in the hall. He was sitting against the wall with a bottle of rum in his hand. His face was dirty. He looked exactly as he had when she had found him four days ago.

"James Norrington! Where have you been?"

"Drinking. Where have you been?" He took a drink.

"Get up and come inside!" She helped him up and to the edge of the bed. He sat. She took the bottle from him.

"If I had a shilling for every bottle you took from me..."

"You'd be rich and not drunk, instead of the other way 'round. Now where were you?"

"I walked past the tavern. You'll never guess who was there."

"Well, judging from the state of you, it must be someone that you hate." She thought. "Jack? Jack Sparrow is down there?"

"Yeah. Putting together some sort of crew."

"I've got to get down there." She started to leave. He held her hand.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"I don't want you going down there."

"And what authority do you have to keep me from it?"

"Listen to me. That pirate was the start of our problems. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened. Everything would have stayed the same."

"Everything would have stayed the same. You mean that you would be commodore, I would still live in the governor's mansion, and you and I would still be in Port Royal, having tea and biscuits at three in the afternoon. Is that what you mean?"

"I don't appreciate the tone in which you said it, but yes. That's what I mean."

"And you would be married to Elizabeth."

"Well, I..."

"Yes, if we had things your way, you would be married to my sister, and I would be rotting away an old maid!" She turned and stormed away. He caught her arm and spun her back around, holding onto her so she couldn't leave.

"Listen, I'm exhausted of hearing about how much I hurt you. I've apologized to you and poured my heart out. And you just hold that over my head." She didn't have time to react before he crushed her lips with his.

"I..."

"Shut up. I also don't even think I like you very much any more. No one wants a wife that whines and complains non-stop."

"Good. Because no one wants a drunk for a husband."

He kissed her again. She grabbed his hair and kissed him back. When she pulled back, he still wouldn't let her go. She was nose to nose with him.

"I have to go," she said quietly.

"Are you going to join his crew?"

"Truth?" He nodded against her forehead. "Yes."

"Well, then I'm going with you. I'm not letting you out of my sight again."


	20. A Weak Crew

Amelia entered the tavern and saw a line in front of a table where Mr. Gibbs was sitting. She pulled the hood of her cloak down over her eyes and stood behind a hopeful sailor.

"Next." The next person in line stepped up. He was an old man who walked very slow. Gibbs asked, "And what makes you think you're worthy to crew the Black Pearl?"

"Truth be told, I never sailed a day in me life. I figure I should get out and see the world while I'm still young."

"You'll do. Make your mark."

Amelia knew something was up when she saw the group of sailors that Gibbs had recruited. Old men, amputees, drunks, and invalids littered the tavern.

"Next!" Gibbs said.

"My wife run off with my dog, and I'm drunk for a month, and I don't give an ass rat's if I live or die," he slurred.

"Perfect! Next!"

"Me have one bum arm and a bum leg."

"It's the crow's nest for you. Next!"

"Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to sail the seas. Forever."

"Sooner than you think. Sign the roster."

"Thanks very much." The sailor signed the roster, and Jack Sparrow stepped out of the shadows to talk to Gibbs. Amelia pushed James in front of her and hid behind him.

"How are we going?" Jack asked, concentrating on his compass.

"Including those four? That gives us…four." James stepped forward. "And what's your story?"

"My story?" James leaned his hands on the table. "It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life. And the story gets crazier because the man I was chasing happens to be the father of the only woman I've ever loved." Amelia nearly gasped. Did he still love her?

James grabbed the rum bottle from the table and took a swig.

"Commodore?" Gibbs said.

"No, not anymore. Weren't you listening? I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I wouldn't, if not for the hurricane." So that's where he had been.

"Lord, ye didn't try to sail through it?"

"So do I make your crew or not? You haven't said where you're going. Somewhere nice?" He flipped the table, and then started strutting around the tavern. "Am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"James!" Amelia kept her hood down and her voice low.

James spotted Jack, and pointed his pistol at his face. "Or should I just kill you now?"

"You're hired!" Jack said.

"Sorry. Old habits and all that." James was about to shoot when Amelia stepped in and raised his pistol hand to the ceiling.

"Easy, sailor!" The pistol fired and the bullet ricocheted off of the ceiling and broke someone's bottle. A brawl broke out, and Amelia took the opportunity to talk to Gibbs.

"I'd like to join your crew."

"I'm sorry, miss. Frightful bad luck to have a woman aboard."

"And what if that woman was raised by a pirate?" Amelia put her hood down. "Would that cancel out the bad luck?"

"Amelia!" Jack hugged her. "What are you doing here, darlin'?"

"I needed to know you were alive. And I know you're up to something."

A lamp behind them broke.

"Time to go," Jack said, grabbing Amelia's arm. They carefully made their way upstairs. Jack tried on different hats as he went.

"Come on then!" James shouted downstairs. "Who wants some? For my lordly line, I'll have you one by one. Come on, who's first?"

A boy sailor took the bottle out of his hand and smashed it over his head. "I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself!"

The pirates threw James out of the tavern. Amelia broke away from Jack and went downstairs.

"Amelia, wait!" Jack and Gibbs yelled at the same time. She ran out the door and found James lying in the street. The boy that smashed him over the head was next to him.

"James Norrington. What has the world done to you?" The boy stroked his hair. Amelia looked closer.

"Elizabeth?" Elizabeth looked at her and then ran away. Amelia dragged James to the side of the street, and then knelt down and put his head in her lap. He woke up for a moment.

"Amelia?" He said softly.

"It's me."

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" She pushed his hair behind his ear and stroked his rough cheek. He started to drift away. "Sorry for what, James?"

"For leaving you. I should have stayed and fought for you. But I just wanted to follow Jack and catch him, so that I could redeem myself."

"Oh, James." She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"How can you be nice to me after what I've done?"

She just held his hand. He finally felt well enough to get up. Amelia put his arm around her shoulders and helped him walk down to the dock, where Jack and Gibbs were waiting for their crew. James began to vomit into the bay.

"What are you doing here? You have to get back to Port Royal."

"No. I'm staying here, Captain."

"You…"

"Captain Sparrow."

He turned around halfway. "Come to join me crew, lad? Welcome aboard."

"I'm here to find the man I love."

"I'm deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea."

"Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow."

"Elizabeth?" He turned to Gibbs and whispered, "Hide the rum."

Gibbs took the bottle from his hand and walked onto the ship.

"You know, these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin."

"Jack. I know Will came to find you. Where is he?"

"Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with me, poor Will has been press-ganged into Davy Jones' crew."

Amelia's heart dropped. "Davy Jones?"

"Oh please," James said, wiping his mouth. "Davy Jones, the captain of the Flying Dutchman?"

"You look bloody awful, what are you doing here?"

"Jack. What do you mean Will is on Davy Jones' crew?"

The two men ignored Amelia.

"You hired me," James said. "I can't help it if your standards are lax."

"You smell funny."

"Jack!" Elizabeth caught his attention.

"Hmm?" He swung around.

"All I want is to find Will."

"Are you certain? Is that what you really want most? Because I would think, you'd want to find a way to save Will most."

"And you have a way of doing that?"

"Well, there is a chest."

"Oh, dear," James said. Amelia put a hand on his back and led him back to the bay, where he resumed throwing up. He pushed her away. "Stop taking care of me. It makes me feel worse."

"Stop. Let me help you." She placed a cool hand on the back of his neck, where it felt like a fever was raging.

"And whoever possesses that chest possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants. Including saving brave William from his grim fate."

"You don't actually believe him, do you?" James said.

It appeared as though she did. "How do we find it?"

"With this." He held up his compass. "My compass is…unique."

James scoffed. "Unique here, having the meaning of broken."

"True enough. It doesn't point north." Jack gave Amelia a look and pointed to the ship. She took James up the gangplank and to a hammock below.

"Get some sleep."

"Will you stay with me?" He held her hand to his chest.

"Yes." She kissed his cheek. "Go to sleep."

She started to hum, and then to sing.

_"The king and his men stole the queen from her bed_

_And bound her in her bones._

_The seas be ours, and by the powers_

_Where we will we'll roam._

_Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colors high._

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars_

_Never shall we die."_


	21. Honoring One's Commitments

Amelia stood on the deck early the next morning, taking in the sunrise and breathing in the sea air. Her hair was loose and blowing in the breeze. She took James' breath away when he came up and saw her.

"Good morning."

Amelia turned and smiled at him. "Good morning. Do you feel better?"

"On the contrary, I feel I may have become an alcoholic because rum is the only thing that will take away the stabbing headache one gets the morning after a binge. It's a vicious cycle."

Amelia gave a short laugh. "Well, you certainly look better. Your face is much more handsome when it isn't twisted into a scowl."

"Thank you." She closed her eyes and tilted her face up to catch the sun. A smile played on her lips.

James stood next to her. "It's a curious thing. There was a time when I would have given anything for you to look like that while thinking about me."

"How do you know I'm not?"

"Are you?"

She laughed, and then remembered that she wanted to ask him something. "James?"

"What?"

"When I took you home the other night, you said that Jack wasn't the only reason you left Port Royal."

"I did. And he wasn't."

"And that it was about honoring one's commitments. Tell the truth. Did you mean Elizabeth not honoring her commitment to you?"

"No. I meant me not honoring my commitment to you." Amelia's heart fluttered. James looked out to the sea. "Do you know where we're going?"

"No. Jack won't tell me anything. He still doesn't want me to be here. I think that means he knows he's leading this crew into death." She turned. "James, I'm worried."

"What about?"

"About him. About Will. About you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You're not a pirate. If it comes to loyalty to Jack or loyalty to England, I fear you may choose England. That would be alright, ordinarily, but these pirates will kill you, if you're not careful."

"I'll be careful."

"Do you promise? Because now that I've found you…I don't want to lose you."

He took her face in his hands. "Do you mean…?"

"I love you."

He leaned in, and then stopped. "Are you going to slap me if I kiss you again?"

She laughed and kissed him. Amelia didn't want to let go. They finally did when Jack walked by.

"I certainly hope that Jones doesn't come upon the ship when you two are doing that."

"Where are we going, Jack?"

"I told you, daughter. I can't tell you." He stalked off.

"Bloody pirate."

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to Port Royal?"

"I don't know."

"Land ho!" Gibbs shouted from the crow's nest.

"I need my jar of dirt," Jack said as he was running by. Amelia and James helped to prepare a dinghy to go ashore.


	22. Who Gets It?

James was put to the task of digging a hole while Jack meditated over his compass. Amelia helped him dig. And Elizabeth just sat down.

"You don't have to help, you know."

"I want to. I'm not afraid of a little hard work."

"I guess you had everyone fooled."

"What do you mean?"

"You're no lady at all."

She smiled at him, and then they went back to digging. Before long, they hit something solid. The other two came to look into the hole.

There was a large chest. James brought it up, and Jack broke it open. It held a smaller chest with letters on top of it. When the four put their ears to it, they heard thumping.

"It's real," Amelia said.

"You actually were telling the truth," James said.

"I do that quite a lot, yet people are still surprised."

"With good reason." They all looked up.

"Will," Elizabeth said. She ran to him. "You're alright! Thank God! I came to find you."

They kissed, and the other three looked about awkwardly, waiting for them to stop.

"How did you get here?" Jack asked.

"Sea turtles, mate. A pair of them strapped to my feet."

"Not so easy, is it?"

"But I do owe you thanks, Jack."

"You do?"

"After you tricked me onto that ship, to square your debt with Jones..."

"What?" Elizabeth and Amelia said at the same time.

"What?" Jack said in a high-pitched voice. Amelia pinched his arm.

"I was reunited with my father.

"Oh. Well, you're welcome, then."

Elizabeth looked at Jack. "Everything you said to me. Every word was a lie."

"Pretty much. Time and tide, love.

Will unsheathed a knife from his belt and knelt next to the chest.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Jack said.

"I'm gonna kill Jones."

Jack took out his sword and leveled it at Will.

"Jack!" Amelia tried to stop him. He pushed her away and she fell on he ground.

"Are you alright?" James asked as he helped her up.

"I'm fine."

"Can't let you do that, William. Because if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, hmm? Now if you please, the key." Jack held his hand out.

Will snatched Elizabeth's sword. "I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father. And I hope you're here to see it."

James' sword was at Will's throat. "I cant let you do that, either. So sorry."

"James, don't!"

"I knew you'd warm up to me eventually," Jack said.

"Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, I get my life back."

"Lord Cutler Beckett?" Amelia said.

"Aye, the same."

"Ah, the dark side of ambition," Jack said.

"Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption."

"And what about her?" Jack asked, nodding his head towards Amelia.

"I intend to take her with me and make her my wife."

"Over my dead body."

"I think that can be arranged." They began to fight with each other.

"Stop!" Elizabeth yelled. When Will fell, she knelt to help him.

"Guard the chest." He ran off.

"No!" She ran after them. "This is not funny! This is no way for grown men to…Oh, fine! Let's just pull out our swords and start banging away at each other! That's all there ever is! I've had it! I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked pirates!" She started to throw rocks. "This is madness!"

She pretended like she was about to faint.

"Oh! Oh, the heat!" She fell, and no one paid attention.

"Stop." Amelia sat in the sand and watched them. "You might as well just let them go on."

Elizabeth sat next to her. "They're going to kill each other."

"No, they won't."

"How do you know?"

"Jack won't kill anyone. Even though he's a notorious pirate, he's never hurt anyone physically. Doesn't have the wits. Will, as we all know, is too valiant and good hearted to take another man's life, unless he was threatened. Which he's not, really."

"And James?"

"He loves me too much to kill my father or my best friend."

"Oh." They looked at the three men. Neither noticed Davy Jones' crew behind them. One of them put a hand over Amelia's mouth.

"Where's the heart?"

"Help!" Elizabeth shouted. The three men didn't hear her. The pirates took Amelia gagged her and another tied her hands behind her back. She was getting a bit tired of finding herself in this situation.

The pirates cut their way through the jungle, following Jack, Will, and James. The three men ran for the beach, and the pirates ended up in a clearing.

"He'll come back. He'll come back when he finds out we've got her."

Amelia fought to get free, but to no avail. One of the pirates forced her to her knees by pointing his pistol at her head. She heard a crash through the jungle. She saw James running into the clearing, and he tripped. He reached for his sword when he saw the pirates. The one with a conch shell for a head stepped on the sword so that James couldn't get it.

"Looking for someone?" The pirate stepped aside so that James could see Amelia. She yelled out for him. Her guard slapped her across the face so she would shut up.

James fought harder to free his sword.

"Your bravery is wasted. I shall pry the chest from your cold dead hands. And then I shall shoot her. It'll be romantic. You can die together."

"Here you go." James dropped the chest and threw Amelia over his shoulder. He ran back through the trees to the shore. He kissed Amelia when he untied the gag. "Are you alright, my darling?"

"No! Those bloodthirsty…you gave them the heart!"

"Did I?" He opened his coat, where a brown burlap sack was thumping.

"You tricked them?"

"Yes."

"We've got to get out of here."

"Look there." He pointed and she looked on the horizon. There was a Naval ship coming.


	23. The Brand and the Trade

"Land, ho!" The sailor in the crow's nest shouted. James held Amelia's hand and kissed her on the cheek.

"It's a new world for us now, Amelia."

"Do you love me?"

"More than any man loved a woman."

She helped her down the gangplank. When they reached the docks, there were two soldiers standing there.

"Can I help you gentlemen?"

"We have orders."

"What are they?"

They took Amelia and clapped her in irons.

"Let her go! What is her crime?"

"Piracy." They dragged her to the office of Cutler Beckett. James followed, but they slammed the door in his face and locked it. Beckett himself was waiting there at his desk.

"Sit down, Miss Sparrow," he said, not looking up from his papers.

She did so, in an armchair opposite him. "Could you remove these? I am not a threat."

"I suppose that's a reasonable request. Mercer."

Mercer removed the irons. Beckett stood and went over to the fireplace.

"I assume that you don't want to hang, Miss Sparrow."

"No person does."

"Well, you shall, unless you disclose to me the position of your father."

"My father is installed in the governor's mansion, where he has been for the past nine years."

"No, no, no. I mean Captain Jack Sparrow. I know you've seen him. I know you've helped him. And now I want you to help me."

"I can't help you. I saw him last four days ago. He could be anywhere by now."

"You are right, I suppose. But I don't think you're telling the truth." He pulled something out of the fire with a cloth; it was a brand. Amelia could see a bright "P" at the end, glowing red. The same letter that had branded her father years ago.

"The last time I saw him, he was fighting a certain man and another certain man. He left. I haven't seen him."

Beckett nodded to Mercer, who held down Amelia's arm. The brand in Beckett's hand came closer and closer. Amelia tried to wiggle away, but Beckett pressed the red hot metal to the skin of her forearm. She screamed in pain. He held it there until he was sure it would scar. When he pulled it up, some of the skin went with it.

James banged on the door when he heard her. They put Amelia back in the irons and then opened the door. She sank to the floor, and James ran over and knelt at her side.

"What have they done to you?"

"Mr. Mercer, is there any news on the chest?" Beckett asked.

"No. But this man was picked up with her. He had these." Mercer laid Letters of Marque on the table. Beckett unfolded them. James stood up.

"I took the liberty of filling in my name. This woman should be pardoned. She took no part in piracy."

Beckett motioned for James to come closer. "If you intend to claim these, and her, there are some conditions."

"And what are those?"

"You must marry her. If she isn't to be hanged, then she is to be made into a respectable woman."

"I will."

"James…" Amelia said.

He interrupted her. "What's the other condition?"

"You must have something to trade. Do you have the compass?"

"Better." James threw the burlap bag down on the table, the heart could be heard thumping loudly. "The heart of Davy Jones."


	24. Carried Home

Beckett accepted the trade. When Amelia was let out of the irons, James picked her up and carried her to the governor's mansion. When Estrella opened the door, she yelled to the governor, who came bounding down the stairs.

"What's happened to her?"

"Lord Cutler Beckett."

The governor examined Amelia's arm. "He did this? She's no pirate!"

"He did it because of Jack Sparrow."

"I'm alright, Father. I just…" Amelia fainted. James was directed to her room, where he deposited her on the bed and left. He was to be reinstated now, and it would be improper for a gentleman to be in a woman's bedroom with her.

James requested an audience with Governor Swann, and he allowed it. The two sat down in his office.

"Governor, there was a stipulation for Amelia's rescue."

"Oh? And what was that?"

"It was that I marry her."

"Oh." Governor Swann poured himself a glass of water. "Are you asking my permission?"

"More like informing you of my decision. It was all or nothing."

"Well, the only thing that I can say is…thank you. For rescuing my daughter and bringing her back here. I must say, although your appearance has become somewhat…unkempt, you are the best man that I could imagine for Amelia."

"Thank you, sir."

"The wedding must be soon, then?"

"I would prefer it. I feel it is the only way to keep her safe."

"Good. How about Sunday next?"

"That sounds perfect. I trust you will inform her?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go home."

"Yes. Go and clean yourself up, for goodness sake."

James nodded to the governor and left. He walked to his old house, which had been given back to him as a condition of his trade. When he walked in the front door, it was as if nothing had changed. He did clean up; took a bath, shaved, and had Mrs. Smith, the housekeeper, wash his clothes for him. He couldn't stop worrying about Amelia. He couldn't stop thinking about her, even when he went to sleep that night.

But then, he hadn't been able to get her out of his thoughts since that day she'd kissed him on the boat deck during the storm.

He thought about her every waking minute, and dreamed about her when he slept. But this time, he felt he had the right. He was going to marry her. He had thought his life was over when she refused his proposal. And it was. Until she had walked back into it. And it was like a ray of sunshine in a lifetime of darkness.

Yes, he would be married to Amelia. And he would be happy for the rest of his life.


	25. A Formality

When Amelia woke up the next day, she was told she had slept well into the afternoon. She took tea in the garden. James came to join her.

"You look…decidedly more upstanding than you did yesterday," she said, commenting on his clean-shaven face and neatly combed hair. She was glad to see that he hadn't gone back to a white wig yet. His dark brown hair was tied back with a black ribbon.

"Yes. I think I'm more comfortable this way. How are you feeling? How is your arm?"

"It hurts, but I'm feeling fine, thank you. Sit, please."

He pulled out the chair opposite her and she poured a cup of tea for him. "Milk?"

"Yes, thank you." She poured the milk and handed him the tea. They both sipped for a few moments before he finally broke the silence. "Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"About yesterday…you do remember what I said to Lord Beckett, I hope."

"I do."

"I hope that I did not offend you."

"No! I was surprised. But I know that you'll do what you must."

"The fact that he told me I must marry you doesn't matter to me. I was going to ask you anyway."

"You were?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then I can accept with a clear conscience."

James smiled and knelt in front of her. He reached into his pocket. "Will you marry me, Miss Sparrow?"

"Yes, Mr. Norrington."

"Admiral," he said, handing her the thimble that he had pulled out of his pocket.

"Thank you." She kissed the trinket. "Admiral?"

"Yes. I've been reinstated and given a promotion. Are you alright with being married to a military man?"

She stroked his hair. She supposed that she would have to get used to the wig again. "I suppose I am."

"Good. Your father and I have arranged the wedding for next Sunday. Can you be ready by then?"

"Yes."

He kissed her on the cheek. "I will go and make arrangements for your things to be moved to my house by the end of the week. Go back in the house, will you?"

He turned to go, and Amelia called his name. "James?"

"Yes, my darling?"

"I love you."

He smiled and walked back to kiss her on the lips. "I love you too."


	26. The Note

"The Friday before her wedding, Amelia was in what were to be her quarters in James' house. Estrella was in the closet, hanging up her dresses. James had chosen new furniture for the room. Amelia looked around at the room she would share with her husband. The bed had frothy white curtains around it, and a blue silk comforter. There was a set of French doors on the far side, opening to a large balcony with a view of the shore and a table and chairs. Amelia stepped out onto the balcony and closed her eyes, breathing in the sea air. She looked down at her left ring finger, which held the top part of her engagement thimble.

Everything was real. Six months ago, she could never have imagined that she would be marrying James Norrington. It was her wildest dream. But now, here she was, standing on the balcony of his house, which would soon be her house, too.

"You may go, Estrella," said a voice from behind her. She smiled at her fiance's voice. She expected him to stand next to her, but she felt two arms close around her shoulders. She put her head back to rest on his chest.

"Hello, Miss Sparrow." He kissed her cheek.

"Admiral Norrington. I hope no one walks by to see this display."

"I don't care if they do." He kissed her neck.

"Well, I do." She pulled away and faced him, straightening his lapels. "I'm supposed to be a respectable woman, remember?"

"Ah, yes. Well, you will be. In two days." He leaned down to kiss her, and she showed her cheek. "Fine. I only came to tell you that you are due home. I'll walk you."

"Thank you." She took his arm. When they got to her house, she was taken upstairs for yet another dress fitting.

When Amelia was in the wedding dress, she felt like a princess. It was light blue with little dark blue scrolls embroidered on the stomacher. She would wear violets in her hair. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror while the seamstresses were sewing on the trim.

"Miss Sparrow?" Estrella came in and handed her a note. She opened it, and immediately had to sit on the settee.

"Everyone please go." She held back tears as the servants left. She read the note again, to make sure she had seen it right.

_Miss Sparrow,_

_I am sorry to tell you that your father, Captain Jack Sparrow, has been lost to the locker. He went down when the kraken overtook the Pearl. A braver and more noble pirate, there never was. _

_Sincerely,_

_Joshamee Gibbs_

__It hit her like a rock, and it felt as though her heart would sink into her stomach. She let out the sobs she had held in. The governor heard her as he passed by the door.

"Darling! What is the matter?" He sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She handed him the note, and he read it. "Oh, my dearest. I am so sorry."

"I shouldn't be so sad. I mean, all those years before he came here, there was a part of me that assumed he was dead. And he and I just reunited. But I..." She couldn't suppress another sob. She buried her face in the governor's shoulder.

"There, there, my dear. You mustn't cry." He patted her back. "You mustn't cry."

"What's the matter?" James walked in.

"Go away!" She ran into the closet. She didn't want to show him her face after she'd been crying.

She heard the rustle of paper as the governor handed James the note.

"May I have a moment alone with my fiancee, please?" James asked. The governor consented and left.

"Come out here, Amelia." He stood with his hands on his hips.

"No. I don't want you to see me like this."

His hand reached in and grabbed her arm. He pulled her out of the closet and into his arms. She began to cry again. "Shh. It's alright. Shh."

"I'm sorry. I...just..."

"Don't apologize, my dear. I've seen you cry before."

"But never when you were about to marry me!"

James held back a chuckle. "Well, I shall see it many more times in the next fifty years."

She smiled and turned so that her cheek rested on his chest.

"Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"You won't...you won't call off the wedding, will you?"

"No. Absolutely not. I won't let you get away from me again." She leaned her face up to him and he kissed her. He brushed her tears away with his thumbs.

"So, you are ready for Sunday then?"

"I was never more ready for anything.


	27. The Wedding

On Saturday night, Amelia couldn't sleep. She kept having dreams that she was late for the wedding.

Which meant that on Sunday morning, she was exhausted.

Estrella came into her room early, just after the sun came up. Amelia cleaned her teeth and brushed her hair. Estrella went to work on arranging her long dark tresses. Anna, the other maid, came in with a bouquet of violets.

"These are from the admiral, ma'am."

"Thank you, Anna. You may put them over there." Amelia hadn't been nervous until that moment. Before, she had just thought of it as her wedding day. But there was a man down the road, waiting to marry her.

It was time to put on the dress. Estrella tied Amelia into her corset so tightly that she could only breathe by pulling shallow breaths into her chest and letting them out quickly. She hoped that there would not be a repeat performance of James' proposal to...of last time.

When all of her underthings were straightened, Estrella helped her into the dress. It was a simple silhouette; not wide like the fashions in London. Amelia ran her hands down the satin and admired herself in the mirror. She was ready.

The governor came to get her at ten o'clock.

"You look ravishing, my dear!" He kissed her on the cheek. "No longer are you the little girl who ran around barefoot and came home covered in mud. You are a lady. And I am so proud of you."

"Thank you." A tear rolled down her cheek. He brushed it away.

"None of that. Come on, then. There is a soldier down the road who is very anxious to see you."

Amelia took his extended arm and walked out of the house. The tiny white church looked so far away at the bottom of the hill. The walk there seemed like hours. When they finally arrived at the steps, the servants went in and sat, and the governor waited for the music to begin. The doors opened. Amelia looked into the faces of her guests. She couldn't look at him. Not yet.

When she was more than halfway to the end of the aisle, she finally met James' eyes. She felt the butterflies in her stomach go wild. He looked wonderful in his uniform. She couldn't stop smiling and crying. When their hands were joined, James held hers like he would never let go.

"Dearly beloved," the minister began, "We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony."

James stroked the back of Amelia's hand with his thumb. She didn't hear anything the minister said for a moment; she merely looked into the eyes of her beloved. He gave a glance to the other man. She smiled and listened to the rest.

"Into this holy union Admiral James Lawrence Norrington and Amelia Gardiner Sparrow now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace."

They both tensed for a moment, waiting for someone to say something. No one did. The minister continued.

"I require and charge you both, here in the presence of God, that if either of you know any reason why you may not be united in marriage lawfully, and in accordance with God's Word, you do now confess it." Another moment, and then, "Amelia, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

"I will." She nodded at James to let him know her sincerity.

"James, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

James did not take his eyes from Amelia's when he said, "I will."

To the congregation, the man said, "Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their marriage?"

_"_We will," they answered.

After a few scriptures were read, the two recited their vows, and James handed the minister a ring. The ring was put on Amelia's finger.

"Now that James and Amelia have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husband and wife, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder."

James took Amelia's face in his hands and kissed her gently. He put her arm through his and turned, and the two were showered with flower petals as they ran out of the church. James kissed her again when they were outside, and they went on to the reception, which was to be at their house.

"Congratulations, Admiral!" Mr. Granger slapped him on the back. "She's a fine young woman."

"Thank you, Mr. Granger. And thank you so much for coming." James walked through the house, accepting congratulations and searching for his bride. He found her in the dining room.

"Yes. And thank you so much for being here, Mrs. Davies."

"Oh, my dear, call me Eve. You are among the married women now, and we must stick together against the hard headed husbands." She said this after she saw James approaching.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Davies. I shall be sure to not be too insufferable." She laughed and walked away. James kissed Amelia on the cheek.

"How do you like your new home, my dear Mrs. Norrington?"

"I like it very much. Thank you, Admiral Norrington."

"You're very welcome, dearest, darling Mrs. Norrington." She snickered and he offered his elbow. They took another round with their guests. Soon they came upon the governor.

"You take care of my daughter, Admiral."

"I will, sir."

"And as for you," he said, kissing her on the cheek, "you take care of your husband. Remember, he is only trying to keep you safe."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Go on and greet your other guests. It is almost time for everyone to go."

Amelia looked at James and blushed. She knew what that meant.

When all the guests had gone, Amelia sat in the bedroom and waited. She was nervous. She was excited. She was...afraid.

When James came in and walked toward her, all her fears were quieted. This is where she was meant to be.


	28. The Morning After

The bright sun woke Amelia up. She was vaguely aware that there was a person under her face. The sunlight was warm on her back. She opened her eyes, and then remembered her wedding night.

She smiled.

Her husband was sleeping. His arm was holding her to him. She was perfectly content.

She watched his face for what seemed like hours. She couldn't look away. His jaw had a shadow of dark stubble on it. His lips were slightly parted. His hair was mussed.

He turned his face and opened his eyes. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She stroked his cheek and kissed him.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Almost too well." She looked at the clock on the mantle. "It's late. We should get up."

"No." He put his other arm around her and pulled her closer. "We're on our honeymoon."

"Some honeymoon, spent on Port Royal." She smiled at him and scooted away. She pulled the sheet around her to cover herself and stood by the french doors. James put on his breeches so he wouldn't embarrass her and stood behind her. He kissed her shoulder and then rested his face there. She leaned her head back to touch his. It was a perfect moment.

"How do you feel, Mrs. Norrington?"

"Wonderful. Incandescently happy."

"Me too." He kissed her neck, her jaw, her cheek, and her lips. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back, pulling his bottom lip between her teeth. He ran his hands up her sides. Her stomach growled just then.

James laughed. "Would you like to go down for some breakfast?"

"Yes, please." They dressed and went down to the dining room. While they were eating, James received a note.

"Unbelievable."

"What does it say, darling?"

"Cutler Beckett wants me to report to his office immediately."

"He doesn't."

"Yes." James got up.

"You're not going to go?"

"I have to. It's my job." He kissed her on the top of the head and headed for the stairs.

"But we're on our honeymoon!"

"I know!"

"You..." He was too far away to hear her. She got up from the table and went into the library, instructing the servants not to tell the admiral where she was.

"Where is Mrs. Norrington?" He said when he came back down. She could hear him putting on his coat.

"She's uh...I don't know, sir." The maid walked away.

"Amelia? Amelia where are you? I'm leaving now, and I don't have time for games." He looked for her for awhile, and then had to give up and leave.


	29. Against a Wall

When James came home that evening, Amelia was already preparing for bed. She sat at her vanity and brushed her hair. She began to braid it when he spoke up from the doorway.

"Don't braid it. Please? I like it down." He was leaning against the doorjamb with his arms crossed and staring at her.

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Oh." She braided it.

James came over to her and leaned close to her so that he could speak right into her ear. "Don't be upset with me." He tried to kiss her neck. She got up from the vanity chair before he could.

"I'm not upset. I'm just tired."

He took off his jacket and waistcoat, and then sat on the bed to take off his boots. "I had to go, Amelia."

"I know. I said I wasn't upset." She kissed him on the forehead quickly; he could tell she didn't mean it. She climbed in on her side of the bed. When James was in his nightclothes, he got in beside her. She turned over so she was facing away from him. He tried to put an arm over her waist, but she scooted away.

"I suppose the honeymoon is over, then?"

"It ended the minute you walked out the door this morning."

James sighed and turned his back to her.

The next morning, Amelia woke before he did. She dressed and went down to breakfast. She was eating a piece of toast and reading a book when James joined her, dressed in his civilian clothes and no wig.

"Good morning, my darling." He kissed her on the top of the head and took his place opposite her.

"Good morning." She didn't look up. He gave her a look, and then picked up his tea and took a sip. She turned the page. "May I ask you something?"

"If it means you'll talk to me, then absolutely."

"What was so important yesterday that Lord Beckett needed you?"

"I can't tell you that."

"You can't?"

"I won't. It will make you upset."

"You've already done that. So tell me." She looked at him. He groaned and covered his face.

"Alright. Beckett has made a deal with a certain pirate to become a privateer. He is sending this privateer out to cripple ships and bring the prisoners back to Port Royal for interrogation. He wants my men and me there when the man comes back with the prisoners, just to be sure nothing...unforseen happens."

"That's the big secret? Naval men do that sort of thing all the time. Pirates are..."

"He is to hang the prisoners when they have confessed."

"What?"

"It is a new law in the Caribbean waters. Any man or woman found guilty of piracy or association with a pirate will be put to death."

"How can you say that so calmly?" She stood up from the table. "These people are being forced to confess, some of them with no guilt whatsoever, and they will die anyway?"

"Yes."

She crossed to him and stroked his cheek. "Always indifference, never emotion. I know your heart, James Norrington. And you would never do this. Don't you realize what this means for me?"

"You are reformed, my dear. You are not a pirate." Amelia stormed out of the breakfast room. James caught her in the hall. "I won't let him hurt you! I told him when I gave him the heart that you were never to be harmed."

"And what of my father? And my friends? Are they to be sent to the gallows?" She tried to push him away. He pushed her against the wall instead.

When his lips met hers, there was a fiery passion that neither of them had experienced yet. It wasn't love. It was anger. She bit his bottom lip, and he pressed his body against hers so hard that she thought she might suffocate. She tangled her hands in his hair. When they separated, they were breathing so heavily that neither of them could speak at first.

"There is nothing I can do for your friends. Their fate is unfortunate. But I have to work for Beckett. I have to keep you safe."

"You have to cover your own hide, is what you mean." She pushed him and turned to pin him to the wall instead. "If you weren't working for Beckett, you would be back on Tortuga, drunk and disgusting like I found you."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Amelia, I..."

"Who is the pirate that has betrayed us all? Name him."

"Davy Jones," He said through his teeth. "Beckett controls him because he has the heart."

"And Beckett thinks he can control him forever, does he? Why does he need Jones to bring in all the pirates, hmm? When he's got men like you to pull the lever and let them hang."

James turned them again so that she was against the wall. He kissed her again, so deeply that her head hit the wall as well. She pushed him and slapped his face. "Don't think that you can just kiss me and this will all go away!"

He slapped her back. "I won't be spoken to in this manner in my own house! You're my wife! You will comply with my decisions! Is that clear?"

She said nothing.

"Look at me!" He pulled her face up to look at him, and wouldn't let her look away. "Is that clear, Amelia?"

"Crystal, Admiral."

"Good." He kissed her again, and then lifted her up and carried her up the stairs.

Later that afternoon, they lay in bed together. James was making slow circles on Amelia's back with his index finger. She had tried to stay angry at him, but she understood that he was only trying to keep her safe, and if that meant doing Lord Cutler Beckett's bidding, he would do it.

"I'm sorry for slapping you." He kissed her forehead.

"It's alright."

"No, it isn't. I will never hurt you again. Ever."

"I know you won't." She turned her head and kissed his shoulder.

"Amelia?"

"What?"

"I've been meaning to ask you this." He moved his hand to her shoulder, where a black sparrow tattoo was etched. "Where did you get this?"

"I got it when I was thirteen. As a sign that my father is Jack Sparrow."

"Did it hurt?"

She smiled at him. "Like hell."

"Amelia?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sorry you married me?"

"What?" She sat up and looked at him.

"We've been married two days and we've had two fights. Don't you think that's some sort of sign?"

"No." She rested her hands on his chest. "Look at me. I could never regret marrying you. You are the one that I am supposed to spend my life with."

"Good. Because I love you, you know? I know that I seem...cold and distant. But I can't help it. I do love you."

"You think throwing me against a wall is cold and distant?" She laughed and kissed him on the lips. "Don't think that you'll get out of this easily, Admiral Norrington."


	30. Fetch Wicked Jack

"In order to affect a timely halt to deteriorating conditions and to ensure the common good, a state of emergency is declared for these territories by decree of Lord Cutler Beckett, duly appointed representative of His Majesty, the king. By decree..."

Amelia walked away from the window. The study overlooked the center of town, and that's where the gallows were set up for the pirates. When she looked away, they were getting a barrel for Sam, the young cabin boy who had worked aboard the Kehl Monara.

"This is lunacy," she whispered to herself. Her husband was down there, overlooking the executions. Hundreds of pirates, a lot of them her friends or acquaintances, were lined up to die. She would be down there too, if she hadn't married James. She was a coward.

Something else caught her ear. She went back to the window and opened it.

"The seas be ours and by the powers, where we will we'll roam."

All the pirates joined in. Amelia sang quietly to herself.

"Yo ho. Haul together. Hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars. Never shall we die."

The lever was pulled. Amelia squeezed her eyes shut.

"That's a dangerous song."

She whirled around. There was a person she hadn't seen in a long time. Almost ten years.

"Tia Dalma. What are you doing here?"

"The question is, what are you doing here? Your father lies waiting for rescue at World's End, and you're living the high life with your man."

"That's not...wait, what do you mean? My father is alive?"

"For certain. Are you willing to fetch Wicked Jack from the ends of the earth?"

She ran across the room. "Yes! I'll do anything."

"Good. Because 'anything' might be just enough. If you want to help him, you'll meet me at the docks tonight." Tia Dalma nodded towards the window. Amelia looked, and when she turned back around, the other woman was gone.

She heard the front door close and James' voice in the foyer.

"Is my wife here?" He said to the maid.

"Yes, sir. She's in the study."

Footsteps on the stairs. In the hall. And he was there. Immediately, he kissed her and held her close to him.

"I'm sorry, my dear."

"It's not your fault, James." She kissed him on the jaw and walked out. He followed her.

"Amelia, I'm going away for awhile."

"What? How long is awhile?"

"Only a week or so. Beckett wishes the militia to accompany him to him meeting with Jones."

"Because he's a coward."

James sighed and gave her a look. "Will you be alright here on your own?"

"Of course."

"Good. No more...business?"

"No, James. I'm reformed, remember? I'm not a pirate. When do you leave?"

"Immediately, I'm afraid."

"Well, I'll tell Estrella to pack your things."

"Thank you, my darling."

She did as she said, and then set about getting her own things together. She would rescue Jack from World's End. And she would do it without James' help or knowledge.


	31. Sao Feng

"Yo ho, haul together. Hoist the colors high. Heave-ho, thieve..." A sword came to Elizabeth's throat. It was one of Sao Feng's men.

"Thieves and beggars. Never shall we die. A dangerous song to be singing for any who are ignorant of its meaning. Particularly women. Particularly women alone."

Captain Barbossa crossed blades with him. "What makes you think they're alone?

"You protect them?"

"And what makes you think I need protecting?" Elizabeth drew her own sword. Amelia rolled her eyes. Elizabeth was very confident of her skills as a pirate, though they were not that great. She thought she was edgy and intimidating, just because she knew which way to hold a sword. She knew nothing of piracy.

"Your master's expecting us." Amelia climbed out of the boat.

"Have you heard anything from Will?" Elizabeth asked Barbossa.

"I trust young Turner to acquire the charts and you to remember your place in the presence of Captain Sao Feng. Flitting around with your blade may work with his men, but it be best you leave the business to me and Amelia."

"Is he that terrifying?"

"He's much like myself, but absent my merciful nature and sense of fair play."

Barbossa was instructed to leave behind his weapons when they entered Sao Feng's den. Amelia did so as well. Elizabeth tried to pass, but they stopped her.

"Do you think because she is a woman we would not suspect her of treachery?"

"Well, when you put it that way." He nodded, and Elizabeth handed over her weapons. They instructed her to leave behind her coat and her pants, as well. Sao Feng was in a steam bath when they entered the room.

"Captain Barbossa, welcome to Singapore. I understand that you have a request to make of me."

"More of a proposal to put to ye. Myself and this lady," he pointed to Amelia," have a venture underway and find ourselves in need of a ship and a crew."

"Hmm. It's an odd coincidence."

"Because you happen to have a ship and a crew you don't need?"

"No." He got out of the bath. "Because earlier this day, not far from here, a thief broke into my most revered uncle's temple and tried to make off with navigational charts. The route to the Farthest Gate. Wouldn't it be amazing if this venture of yours took you to the world beyond this one?"

"It would strain credulity at that."

They pulled Will out of a tub of water off to the side. "This is the thief. Is his face familiar to you?"

Amelia expected Elizabeth to speak up, but she held her tongue.

"Then I guess he has no further need for it."

"No, no!" And there it was.

"Idiot!" Amelia whispered.

"You come into my city and you betray my hospitality.

"I assure you I had no idea..."

"That he would get caught! You intend to attempt the voyage to Davy Jones' Locker. But I cannot help but wonder...Why?"

"The song has been sung. The time is upon us. We must convene the Brethren Court. As one of the nine pirate lords, you must honor the call."

"There is a price on all our heads."

"Aye. It is true. It seems the only way a pirate can turn a profit anymore...is by betraying other pirates.

"We must put our differences aside. The First Brethren Court gave us rule of the seas. But now that rule is being challenged by Lord Cutler Beckett.

"Against East India Trading Company, what value is the Brethren Court? What can any of us do?"

"You can fight!" Amelia pulled Elizabeth's arm back, but she pulled away. "Get off me! You are Sao Feng, the pirate lord of Singapore. You command in an age of piracy where bold captains sail free waters. Where waves aren't measured in feet, but as increments of fear, and those who pass the test become legend. Would you have that era come to an end on your watch? The most notorious pirates from around the world are uniting against our enemy, and yet you sit here cowering in your bathwater!"

"Elizabeth Swann. There is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there? And the eye does not go wanting." But I cannot help but notice you have failed to answer my question. What is it you seek in Davy Jones' Locker?"

"Jack Sparrow." Amelia said. "He's one of the pirate lords."

"The only reason I would want Jack Sparrow returned from the land of the dead is so I can send him back myself! Why does a little girl like you want him out?" He suddenly realized. "I know you. You're his daughter, aren't you?"

"Jack Sparrow holds one of the nine pieces of eight," she continued. "He failed to pass it along to a successor before he died. So we must go and get him back."

"So you admit you have deceived me. Weapons!"

"Sao Feng, I assure you, our intentions are strictly honorable." Barbossa stretched his hands out, and swords came up from the grate in the floor. Barbossa, Amelia, and Elizabeth caught them and prepared to attack. Sao Feng grabbed one of his men and made to cut his throat.

"Drop your weapons or I kill the man!"

"Kill him. He's not our man."

"If he's not with you, and he's not with us, who's he with?"

A battering ram charged through the door. Cutler Beckett was on the other side. "Charge! Company! Make ready. Set. Fire!"

Amelia saw James. She ran through the soldiers covering her face and down the docks. She made to untie the dinghy when someone pulled her arm. It was her husband.

"I thought that was you. What are you doing?"

"Freeing my father."

"Your father is dead! I thought I made it clear when we married that I can only protect you so long as you stay away from piracy! Are you trying to be killed?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes!" Will, Barbossa, Elizabeth, and the rest came running towards the docks. Amelia pulled away. "I have to go."

"Amelia, don't! I'm warning you!"

She stepped in. "I accept your warning. And I bid you adieu."


	32. Frozen

Amelia couldn't get James' face out of her mind as the crew sailed through the open waters. There was a chill that came upon them with no warning.

"No one said anything about cold."

"I'm sure there must be a reason for our suffering."

Amelia was tired of Pintel and Ragetti's whining.

"Are you pirates or milk maids? Did you think that the weather conditions to the end of the world would be sunny and clear? Stop your complaining!"

They both looked miffed. Pintel spoke. "Why don't that obeah woman bring Jack back the same way she brought back Barbossa?"

"Because Barbossa was only dead." Tia Dalma spoke from where she was standing at the bow of the ship. She turned a fierce glance to the rest. "Jack Sparrow is taken, body and soul, to a place not of death, but punishment. The worst fate a person can bring upon himself. Stretching on forever."

Amelia thought of her father in that sort of prison, alone and hopeless, and didn't realize she was staring into space until Tia Dalma continued.

"That's what awaits at Davy Jones' locker."

"Yeah," Ragetti said. "I knew there was a good reason."

"We have to rescue him. I don't care what it takes."

"Would you give your life in exchange for your father's, girl? Do you love him that much?" Tia Dalma said.

"I would. And I do. He has rescued me time and time again and it's only fair I return the favor."

"What about your husband, Mrs. Norrington?"

"He saw me in Singapore, Mr. Gibbs. He knows I'm on this mission. He won't be happy for it. I daresay he might leave me over it. But I don't care. This is who I was born to be. And I can't turn my back on it; not again."

Captain Barbossa had been poring over the crude map that they had. He called Sao Feng over to the map. "Over the edge, over again. Sunrise sets. Flash of green. Care to interpret, Captain Barbossa?"

"Ever gazed upon the green flash, Mr. Gibbs?

"I reckon I seen my fair share. Happens on rare occasion. The last glimpse of sunset, a green flash shoots up into the sky. SOme go their whole lives without seeing it. Some claim to have seen it who ain't. And some say..."

"It signals when a soul comes back to this world." Amelia finished for him.

"Have you ever seen it, Miss Amelia?"

"No. But my father and my grandfather told me stories as a child."

"I'm certain they did. So you see, Master Turner, it's not getting to the land of the dead that's the problem. It's coming back."

Will looked up and yelled, "Barbossa, ahead!"

There was a storm brewing.

"Aye, we're good and lost now!"

"Lost?"

"For certain. You have to be lost to find a place as can't be found. Elseways, everyone would know where it was."

"We're gaining speed!"

"Aye."

"To stations! All hands to stations! Rudder full! Hard aport, gather way!" Will ran around yelling at the sailors.

"Nay, belay that!" Barbossa yelled. "Let her run straight and true!"

"You've doomed us all."

"Don't be so unkind. You may not survive to pass this way again, and these be the last friendly words you'll hear."


	33. Rescued Again

"This is truly a godforsaken place." They had landed on a sort of desert, with nothing around them but white sky and white sand.

"I don't see Jack," Amelia said. "I don't see anyone."

"He's here." Tia Dalma walked ahead. "Davy Jones never once gave up that what he took."

"And does it matter?" Will said. "We're trapped here by your doing. No different than Jack."

Tia Dalma gave a deviant look to Amelia. "Witty Jack is closer than you think."

They saw a man on the horizon. Amelia couldn't believe her eyes.

"Slap me thrice and hand me to Mama. It's Jack!" Mr. Gibbs said.

Amelia was off like a shot. When she reached her father, he looked at her once and then shook his head and kept walking.

"Mr. Gibbs."

"Aye, Cap'n."

"I thought so. I expect you're able to account for your actions, then?"

"Sir?"

"There's been a perpetual and virulent lack of discipline upon my vessel. Why?"

"You're in Davy Jones' Locker, Cap'n."

"I know that. I know where I am. And don't think I don't."

"Jack." Amelia touched his arm. He pulled away.

"Oh, Hector. It's been too long, hasn't it?"

"Aye. Isla de Muerta, remember? You shot me."

"And you kidnapped me daughter. Tia Dalma, out and about, eh? You add an agreeable sense of the macabre to any delirium."

"He thinks we're a hallucination," Gibbs said.

"Then why won't he speak to me?" Amelia said.

"Too painful. You're the only one I actually wished were here," Jack said, still not looking at her. "William, tell me something? Have you come because you needed my help to save a certain distressing damsel, or rather, damsel in distress?"

"No."

"Well, then, you wouldn't be here, would you? So you can't be here. QED, you're not really here."

"Jack-" Amelia started.

"Jack." Elizabeth stepped in front of him. "This is real. We're here."

Jack thought for a moment. He seemed to realize. He looked at Amelia, finally, and pulled her into his arms.

"I never thought I'd see you again, Jack."

"Nor I, darlin'. I love you."

"I love you, too."

He pulled away. "The Locker, you say."

"Aye. We've come to rescue you," Elizabeth said.

"Have you now? That's very kind of you. But it would seem that as I posess a ship and you don't, you're the ones in need of rescuing, and I'm not sure as I'm in the mood to save anyone but me daughter."

"I see my ship. Right there." Barbossa pointed.

"Can't spot it. Must be a tiny little thing hiding somewhere behind the Pearl."

"Jack," Amelia said, interrupting their fight. "Cutler Beckett has the heart of Davy Jones. He controls the Flying Dutchman. He's taking over the seas."

"And your husband?"

"Tried as hard as he could to avoid helping. But as it happens I seem to be a bargaining chip between him and Beckett. If he doesn't help to capture the pirates, I get executed."

"The song has been sung," Gibbs said. "The Brethren Court is called."

"Leave you alone for a minute, look what happens. Everything's gone to pot."

"Aye. The world needs you back something fierce."

"And you need a crew," Elizabeth said.

"Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past. One of you succeeded." He gave a look to Elizabeth, which Amelia didn't understand. Apparently, neither did Will, because he gave a questioning look to his fiance.

"Oh, she's not told you? You'll have loads to talk about while you're here. As for you," he said, standing in front of Tia Dalma.

"Now, don't tell me you didn't enjoy it at the time."

"Fair enough. All right, you're in." He continued down the line, and decided to let everyone come on the trip. He came back to Amelia. "And I especially need you. I'll never abandon you again, as long as you don't abandon me. Savvy?

Amelia nodded.

After a small argument on the ship about who was captain, Barbossa or Jack, they were underway.


	34. Passing Like Ghosts

That evening, Amelia was in her quarters, trying to think of something to write to James. She put pen to paper a hundred times, but nothing came to her. She finally had to stop when she heard someone rushing by her door. She went out onto the deck to find Pintel and Ragetti about to drop a cannonball into the water. She looked over the side. There were souls. Hundreds of them. Floating through the water like sheets of light.

"Stop!" She shouted. They did, and put the cannonball down.

"Be disrespectful, it would." Pintel said.

None of them had noticed Tia Dalma standing at the railing.

"They should be in the care of Davy Jones. That was the duty him was charged with by the goddess, Calypso. To ferry those who die at sea to the other side. And every ten years him could come ashore to be with she who love him...truly. But the man has become a monster."

"So he wasn't always... tentacley?" Ragetti said.

"No. Him was a man...once."

"Now there are boats coming."

"They're not a threat to us. Am I right?" Gibbs asked.

"We are nothing but ghosts to them. It's best just let them be."

Amelia gasped as she saw Governor Swann floating up. Elizabeth came up on deck just then.

"It's my father. We've made it back. Father! Father, here, look here!"

"Elizabeth." He looked up at her. "Amelia."

"Elizabeth," Jack said. "We're not back."

Her face fell. She realized. "Father!"

"Elizabeth. Are you dead?"

"No. No."

"I think I am."

"No, you can't be."

"There was this chest, you see. It's odd. At the time it seemed so important."

"Come aboard."

"And a heart. I learned that if you stab the heart, yours must take its place. And you will sail the seas for eternity. The Dutchman must have a captain. Silly thing to die for."

"Someone, cast a line. Come back with us! Come on." She cast a line into the water.

"A touch... of destiny."

"Take the line."

"I'm so proud of you, Elizabeth."

"Father, the line! Take the line!" She started to climb overboard.

"She must not leave the ship!" Tia Dalma yelled. Will held Elizabeth back, and she fought him.

"Father! Please come with us! Please! No! I won't leave you!"

"I'll give your love to your mother."

"Please, I won't let you go!"

"Elizabeth!" Amelia hugged her. Tears fell from her eyes as well, and though she knew the answer, she still asked, "Is there a way?"

Tia Dalma shook her head. "Him at peace."


	35. All Hands Overboard

There was no water. No food. And Jack had been poring over the map to World's End for hours. Amelia wondered what they were going to do. Maybe they were doomed to wander between worlds forever. No one knew.

Suddenly, Jack stood up. He was looking at something in the distance. "What is that?"

"What?" She went over to look.

"Where?"

"There." He ran to the other side of the ship, and then back. Back and forth.

"He's rocking the ship," Gibbs said.

"We're rocking the ship."

"Aye. He's onto it."

Amelia started to run with him, and so did the rest of the crew. They finally succeeded in flipping the ship over. Amelia held her breath and held onto the railing for dear life. She needed to breathe. The air in her lungs was stale. She couldn't hold on much longer. And then, finally, the water drained back the other way.

"We're back!"

Barbossa pointed his pistol at Jack. Jack put his hands up. Then he pulled out his own pistol. "Parley?"

"All right, then! The Brethren Court is a-gathering at Shipwreck Cove. And, Jack, you and I are a-going. There'll be no arguing that point."

"I is arguing the point. If there's pirates a-gathering, I'm pointing my ship the other way."

Elizabeth pointed her pistol at Jack. "The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you're a pirate."

"Fight or not, you're not running, Jack. If we don't stand together, they'll hunt us down one by one, till there be none left but you.

"Quite like the sound of that. Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate."

"Aye."

"And you'll be fighting Jones alone," Amelia said. "How does that figure into your plan?"

"I'm still working on that. But you won't be going to shipwreck cove anyway. You're going with me. But I will not be going back

to the Locker, mate. Count on that."

They all pulled their triggers. The guns didn't go off. "Wet powder."

Amelia looked over the edge. "There's fresh water on this island. We can resupply there and get back to shooting each other later."

"You lead the shore party. I'll stay with my ship," Jack said to Barbossa.

"I'll not be leaving my ship in your command."

"Why don't you both go ashore and leave the ship in my command. Temporarily." Pintel butt in.

They lowered a dinghy with Pintel and Ragetti over the side of the ship. Amelia went to her cabin to rest. She hadn't been there more then ten minutes when she heard yelling. She went back out on the deck...

...and Sao Feng was there to greet her.


	36. Reunited

"Jack Sparrow. You paid me great insult once."

"That doesn't sound like me."

Sao Feng's men took Elizabeth and Amelia by the arms. "Shall we just call it square, then?"

"Release them!" Will said. "They are not part of the bargain."

"And what bargain be that?" Barbossa asked.

"You heard Captain Turner. Release them!"

"Captain Turner?"

"Aye, the perfidious rotter led a mutiny against us!"

"I need the Pearl to free my father. That's the only reason I came on this voyage."

Elizabeth looked at her fiance. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?"

"It was my burden to bear."

Jack looked upset. "He needs the Pearl. Captain Turner needs the Pearl. And you felt guilty. And you and your Brethren Court. Did no one come to save me just because they missed me?" Amelia didn't even raise her hand. But the crew did. "I'm standing with them."

"I'm sorry, Jack, but there is an old friend who wants to see you first."

"I'm not certain I can survive any more visits from old friends."

Sao Feng looked on the horizon, where the Flying Dutchman was waiting. "Here is your chance to find out."

Amelia went with him. She was nervous the whole time. She knew that James would be there. And that she wouldn't be going to the gathering.

When the boat reached the ship, Amelia was put up first. Surely enough, there was her husband, waiting at the top for her. She couldn't tell if he was upset. She knew she would be if the situation were reversed.

When she got to the deck, James said nothing. He took her arm and led her to his cabin. He shut the door and walked towards her.

"Alright, first things first." She steeled herself for a hit. But he grabbed her arms and kissed her fiercely, and then held her. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"James, I..."

"Second thing is that it's funny to me how I left to do my duty the day after our wedding, and you got upset at me. But then you turned around and did exactly the same thing, after I forbid you to do it."

"Forbid me? You can't cage me, James. I'm your wife, not your pet."

"Amelia, I have been worried sick about you! I didn't know how to begin searching for you."

"I told you that I was going to free my father!"

"And did you?"

"Yes."

"Good. After this, we're going home. Agreed?"

"Agreed." She went back to him and hugged him, putting her lips close to his ear and whispering, "Do you still love me?"

"More than anything. Do you love me?"

"Always."

That evening, there was a knock at the door. James got out of bed and dressed, and Amelia put on his dressing gown and stood out of sight. He opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Sir, Sao Feng's ship is crippled. We have the crew."

"Thank you." He looked at Amelia and nodded, and then went out on the deck. She dressed quickly and joined him. Elizabeth was there.

"Thank God, you're alive." James hugged her. "Your father will be overjoyed to know you're safe."

Amelia looked at him. "James..."

"My father is dead."

"No." James looked from one to the other. "That can't be true. He returned to England."

"Did Lord Beckett tell you that?"

"Who among you do you name as captain?" Davy Jones asked.

"Captain? Her."

"Her?" James looked at Elizabeth. "Tow the ship. Put the prisoners in the brig. The captain shall have my quarters."

"What?" Amelia thought there was something funny about that. If he were by himself, it would be different. But where was she to sleep?

"Thank you, sir. But I prefer to remain with my crew."

James grabbed her arm. "Elizabeth! I swear, I did not know."

"Know what? Which side you chose? Well, now you do." Elizabeth stalked off to the brig. James hung his head. Amelia hugged him from behind.

"I didn't have anything to do with Governor Swann's death. I swear."

"I know you didn't. I wouldn't have thought of it."

"I didn't choose this side because I want to see this happen. I chose it because..."

"I know." He turned around and hugged her. He rested his chin on top of her head. She waited a long time before she got up the courage to ask what was on her mind. "James?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you offer her your quarters?"

"What?"

"You said she could have your quarters."

"It's customary for..."

"Where was I to sleep?"

"With me, I suppose."

"You would send me out of your quarters so that she could sleep there?"

"It's improper for a lady to sleep among men."

"What am I?"

"You know what I meant."

"I'm afraid I don't. You still think of she and me as the princess and the pauper."

"Amelia, I..."

"Let's just forget it and go to bed, okay?"

"I can tell you want to talk about it."

"Not tonight. I'm too exhausted."

"Alright. You go and I'll be in in a minute. Last minute checks." He kissed her on the forehead and she went along. She sat up and waited for him. Finally, she heard voices outside.


	37. Heart Lost at Sea

Amelia climbed out to the wheel deck and laid flat so they couldn't see her. It was James. He was letting Elizabeth and her crew free. "Do not go to Shipwreck Cove. Beckett knows of the meeting of the Brethren. I fear there may be a traitor among them."

"It's too late to earn my forgiveness."

"I had nothing to do with your father's death. But that does not absolve me of my other sins."

"Come with us. James, come with me."

Amelia shook her head. She thought he would agree.

"I cannot leave Amelia."

"Amelia. Do you truly love her?"

"Yes."

"Who goes there?" They looked back where the other voices had come from.

"James, they won't kill Amelia. She's a pirate. And she's a bargaining chip for both Jones and Beckett. She will be safe."

"Go. I will follow."

"You're lying."

He looked back at her. "I can't leave her. Our destinies have been entwined, Elizabeth. Hers and mine."

Elizabeth stood on her toes and kissed him. Amelia couldn't tell if he was kissing her back. He pushed her away.

"Go, now." Bootstrap Bill Turner was approaching. James pointed his sword at the pirate. "Back to your station, sailor."

"No one leaves the ship."

"Stand down. That's an order. That's an order."

"Part of the crew, part of the ship. Part of the crew, part of the ship. Part of the crew."

"Steady, man."

"Part of the crew, part of the ship. All hands, prisoner escape!"

"Belay that!" Bootstrap kept yelling. James cut the line, and Elizabeth's crew fell into the water.

"James! James!"

"Prisoner escape!" Bootstrap put his sword through James' chest. Amelia screamed, and so did Elizabeth.

"James! No!"

James fell to the deck.

"The admiral's dead."

"Admiral's dead?"

"The admiral's dead."

"Admiral's dead."

"To the captain's cabin!" The pirates left. Amelia climbed down to the deck and sat down. She held James against her.

"Amelia. I'm so sorry."

"No. Don't say sorry." Her tears fell on his jacket.

"If I had just..."

"Shh."

Davy Jones walked up then. He gave a strange look to the couple on the deck, and then asked, "James Norrington. Do you fear death?"

James stabbed his sword into the pirate, and then breathed his last breath.

"I take that as a no." He pulled the sword out of his body. "Nice sword. Would you like to be joining him, Miss Sparrow?"

She couldn't say anything. All she could do was hold her husband's body and sob.

"The Dutchman is under my command. Take this girl and throw her in the brig."

The pirates hauled her away. Before they took her below, she saw Bootstrap unceremoniously throwing James' body overboard.


	38. Hoist the Colors!

**I am deeply sorry that James had to die.**

**Also, I gave Elizabeth's speech to Amelia here. One, because I feel like it is more empowering coming from her situation that just happened. (We won't discuss it.)**

**And two, because I am not ashamed that I thoroughly cannot stand Elizabeth.**

Amelia crouched against the wall of the cell.

"I'm so sorry. This is my fault. If I hadn't...if I hadn't joined my father, none of this would have happened. You could've married Elizabeth and we could be back on Port Royal. Maybe she would have been better for you."

_'But she's in love with Turner.' _Amelia turned around. She could swear she heard his voice. _'And I was in love with you."_

"I don't know that you needed me. All I did was muck everything up."

_'I did need you, Amelia. You were everything to me."_

"Stop it! Are you really there, or am I mad?" She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "You were everything to me, too."

The door to the cell opened. "Get out, girl! A bargain has been struck."

"What sort of bargain?"

"Jack Sparrow has convinced Captain Jones that you should be on the Pearl when he sinks it. So we're to send you in a dinghy into the water." The sailor grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. She was in a boat before she knew it, and left out to sea. The sailors had said that the Pearlwas to come and get them. It was hours. Amelia thought she would die out there. Then, out in the distance, she saw her.

The Pearl.

Amelia picked up the oars and rowed as fast as she could. When she reached the ship, a rope came over the side. Will hugged her when she made it to the deck. "It isn't your fault. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is." Tia Dalma was tied to the mast. "What's going on here?"

"We're freeing Calypso."

"Right. Be there some manner of rite or incantation?"

"Aye. The items brought together, done. Items to be burned. And someone must speak the words: Calypso, I release you from your human bonds," Gibbs said.

"Is that it?"

"'Tis said that it must be spoken as if to a lover."

"Ooh."

Barbossa took off his hat and put it over his heart. He shouted, as if his love were on a balcony, "Calypso! I release you from your human bonds!"

Nothing happened.

"Is that it?"

"No, no, no. He didn't say it right. You have to say it right." Ragetti stepped forward and whispered the words into Tia Dalma's ear. Suddenly, she grew the height of the mast, and the winds and water began to swirl about them.

Barbossa knelt down. "Calypso! When the Brethren Court imprisoned you, who was it that told them how? Who was it that betrayed you?"

The giant seethed. "Name him."

"Davy Jones." She started to yell and shake. Barbossa continued. "Calypso! I come before you but a servant, humble and contrite. I have fulfilled me vow and now ask your favor. Spare meself, me ship, and me crew. But unleash your fury upon those who dare to pretend themselves your masters. Or mine."

Tia Dalma collapsed into a million crabs that washed overboard.

"Is that it?"

"Why, she's no help at all."

"What now?"

"Nothing," Barbossa said. "Our final hope has failed us."

"It's not over," Amelia said. She was fueled by her hate for Jones for what he did. "There's still a fight to be had."

"Are ye as daft as your father, missy?" He retorted. "We've an armada against us, and with the Dutchman, there's no chance. Revenge won't bring your husband back, Mrs. Norrington, and it's not something I'm intending to die for."

"You're right. Then what shall we die for?" Amelia jumped onto the railing and held on to the rigging so she wouldn't fall. "You will listen to me! Listen! The Brethren will still be looking here, to us, to the Black Pearl, to lead. And what will they see? Frightened bilge rats aboard a derelict ship? No! No, they will see free men and freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons. They will hear the ringing of our swords and the will know what we can do. By the sweat of our brows, and by the strength of our backs, and by the courage of our hearts. Gentlemen..." she looked about her. "Hoist the colors."

"Hoist the colors!"

"Hoist the colors!"

Barbossa turned. "Aye. The wind's on our side, boys! That's all we need! Hoist the colors!"


	39. The Battle

"Captain Barbossa!" Amelia shouted. "We need you at the helm!"

"Aye, that be true. Brace up yards, you cack-handed deck apes. Dying is the day worth living for. Veer off! She'll not harm us. Full-bore and into the abyss."

"Are you mad?" Elizabeth asked.

"Ha! You afraid to get wet?"

"She's on our stern and gaining."

"More speed! Haul your wind and hold your water. Blow cannons! Blow the cannons!"

"Take us out or they'll overbear us."

"Nay," Amelia said. "Further in. We'll cut across to faster waters. Prepare to broadside."

"Captain the guns. Bear a hand. Muster your courage, men. At the ready."

"Stand to your guns. Midship cannoneers, sight the masts. Main battery at the ready! Hold there! Wait till we're board-and-board."

The Dutchman sailed up on the Pearl like a ghost.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Fire! Fire all!"

"Come on, men. It be too late to alter course now, mateys."

A man came swinging on a rigging from the other ship. Amelia had her sword at the ready. It was Jack.

"Halt there or we'll shoot," Barbossa said.

"Good one. I just come to get me effects."

"Admirable though it may be, why are you here when you could be elsewhere?"

"Well, Barbossa, me daughter is here, isn't she? Besides, someone has to stay and guard the chest."

"Prepare to board!" They heard from the Dutchman. Davey Jones and his men boarded the Pearl. He pointed his sword at Jack.

"No!" Amelia ran to defend him. Jones pushed her down.

"Lookee here, boys. A lost bird. A lost bird that never learned to fly."

"To my great regret. But never too late to learn, eh?"

Jack cut the rigging he was holding and flew up into the sails. Jones followed him.

Amelia got to her feet just as a mutant pirate swung his sword at her throat. Will yelled at Elizabeth through the rain.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

"I don't think now's the best time."

"Now may be the only time. I love you. I've made my choice. What's yours?"

Amelia didn't hear the rest. She turned and there were two more pirates coming at her. She thought of her James. Her sweet James, lost between this world and the next. And she killed every enemy she came in front of.

Amelia heard Elizabeth scream. She turned around.

Will had been stabbed in the chest.

"No! Will!"

Jones was on them in a second. "Ah, love. A dreadful bond. And yet, so easily severed. Tell me, William Turner: do you fear death?"

Will tried to speak and he couldn't.

"Do you?" When Will still didn't answer, Jones turned to Jack. "Heady tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one's hand. You're a cruel man, Jack Sparrow."

"Cruel is a matter of perspective."

"Is it?"

"Will? Look at me! Stay with me! You're all right."

"William?" Bootstrap said. He seemed to snap out of a trance of some sort. "My son."

"Will? Will? Look at me. Look at me!"

"You will not forestall my judgment!" Jones went still. His eyes were wide. He put his hand over his chest, and then tilted his head back. "Calypso."

Amelia looked over. They had taken Will's hand and forced him to stab Jones' heart. He fell into the abyss. Davy Jones was no more.

"She's taking us down! Make quick or it's the Locker for us all!"

They pulled Elizabeth from Will's body. "No. No, no. No!"

They all gathered around him, and Amelia comforted Elizabeth.

"Part of the crew. Part of the ship, part of the crew. Part of the ship, part of the crew."

"Don't leave me. Don't. No! I won't leave you."

"The Dutchman must have a captain."

Will was awake. They had cut his heart out and put it in the chest. He embraced Elizabeth.

"Hold on," Amelia said. "The armada's still out there. The Endeavor's coming up hard to starboard."

Gibbs spoke up. "I think it's time we embrace that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions."

Jack smiled and put his arm around Amelia. "Never actually been one for tradition. Close haul her. Luff the sails and put her in irons."

"Nay, belay that, or we'll be a sitting duck," Barbossa interjected.

"Belay that belay that."

"But the arma..."

"Belay."

"The Endeav..."

"Stow. Shut it."

"Jack? What are you doing?"

He smiled at her and walked away. Will stood next to her.

"Amelia. I'm so sorry about James."

"So am I. Especially when I think of all those souls in the boats. He's in his own boat now. Lost. They didn't give him a proper burial. They just rolled his body overboard."

"We can fix that."


	40. Fixing It

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to remember Admiral James Norrington." The pirates all had their hats off, the colors were at half mast, and Barbossa was leading the ceremony. "For although he started out as a pirate hating bilge-rat, he is probably responsible for most of us here being alive today, in one way or another. And so, even though his physical body has already been sent below, we hereby commit his spirit to the ocean."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Amelia couldn't hold in her tears.

"How do you feel about that, Miss Sparrow?"

"That was fine, thank you Captain Barbossa."

Bootstrap walked over to his son. "Orders, sir?"

"You're no longer bound to the Dutchman. You're free."

"Aye. That's a fine thing, but by my reckoning, I still have a debt that has to be paid. If you'll have me."

Will smiled. "On the wheel, then, Mr. Turner."

"Aye, Captain Turner. This ship has a purpose again. And where we are bound," he looked at Elizabeth, "she cannot come. One day ashore. Ten years at sea. That's a steep price for what's been done."

"Depends on the one day."

Will and Elizabeth left for their one day ashore. Amelia boarded the Pearl. As she went out onto the deck to take in the sea air, she heard him again.

_'Amelia.'_

"Stop, James. Leave me alone."

_'Amelia.'_

Her whole body began to shake. She didn't know what was happening.

_'Amelia!'_

She felt herself being pushed overboard. She plunged into the deep water. She saw James there, decaying, being eaten by fish. His hands reached out for her, and she tried to swim away, but she couldn't escape. She felt his arms around her. She was losing her breath. She felt herself slipping away.


	41. Finale

"Amelia!"

She felt a sharp pain in her face. She sat up and tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry," James said, explaining the reason for slapping her face. "You wouldn't wake up."

James...James! Amelia took his face in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. He was alive!

"Darling? What is it?" James put his arms around her waist.

"I...you were dead. Davy Jones ran you through. You were dead and you were pulling me under with you." She grabbed her throat, still trying to breathe.

"Shh. Darling, it's alright." James pulled her closer and ran his fingers through her disheveled hair. She saw long red marks on his arms.

"Oh, James! Is that from me?"

"It's alright. Don't worry about it."

"I'm so sorry! It was just...it was so real!"

"Amelia, it's fine. I'm fine."

"Oh, God." Amelia kissed his cheek and his neck, and then settled into his embrace, pushing her face against his chest. "Please tell me you're really here. Tell me I'm not dreaming now."

"You're not. Amelia, I never got on the Dutchman. I refused Beckett's commission, remember?"

"Yes...yes, I remember."

"And then we moved back to England."

"Yes."

"And..." They were interrupted when the door flew open.

"Father! Mother! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Their four children ran in and started to jump on the bed. James stood up and wrangled each of them to sit on the bed nicely.

"Be careful, children. Your mother has had another bad night."

Anne, the youngest, settled on Amelia's lap. "It's alright, Mother. We're here."

Amelia smiled and kissed the girl on top of her head, and then began stroking her long, dark curls. "So you are. Happy Christmas, my darling."

"May we go downstairs now for presents?" Jack, the oldest, asked.

"Well, who's to say you got any presents? Father Christmas doesn't bring presents to bullies, Jack." Jimmy, the second oldest, pushed his shoulder.

"Yes he does!" That was young William.

"Everyone go back to your bedrooms and get washed, please!" James shooed them all out of the room. He came back to the bed and laid a hand on Amelia's belly, which was huge. "Are you alright? Not too stressed?"

"No. I'm fine. Although, I don't think that this little one can handle another one of those dreams before she decides she wants out."

"She?"

"Yes. You've got three boys. I need another girl."

"I love you." He kissed her on the cheek and got up to get dressed.

The little family enjoyed their Christmas. There were so many presents, and when they had them all opened, the children went out to enjoy the snow, and James and Amelia stayed in and enjoyed tea. After the delicious goose for Christmas dinner, it was time for everyone to turn in.

"James?" Amelia said, changing into her nightgown.

"What is it, my dear?"

"I love you."

He crossed the room and kissed her deeply, and then wrapped her in his arms. "And I love you."

**Well, folks, that's the end. Thanks so much for reading my story...the response has been phenomenal! Please, please, PLEASE review it. Even if it's just a few words, I need to know how you liked (or didn't like) this story so I know how to work on my next one. And if you've got time, pop on over to _They Were Schoolboys_, my story about the June Rebellion of _Les Miserables_ from the point of view of the Army General of the National Guard. **

**Thanks again!**


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